Night of Seven
by F1yMordecai
Summary: After the Winter War, things have been different for Ichigo and his group. They just don't seem as close anymore. But a series of events and encounters with a mysterious child start bringing them together. Will things be right in time for the festival?
1. Things Had Changed

**Summary:** After the Winter War, things have been different for Ichigo and his group. They just don't seem as close anymore. But a series of events and encounters with a mysterious child start bringing them together. Chaos is certain. Will things be right in time for the Summer Festival?

Ichigo/Rukia, Ishida/Orihime, Renji/Tatsuki, and Chad+OC

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In midst of the quiet classroom, Kurosaki Ichigo finally found some peace. The teacher's voice was muffled against his thoughts. He rhythmically tapped his pencil against the spiral notebook in front of him. Things here seemed so calm, so simple. Where he was a few months ago he almost thought he would never get out. Almost: something he would never admit to the others. His amber eyes squinted, a chunk of orange hair falling in front of his face.

Back in Hueco Mundo the fight to save Inoue Orihime was fierce and deadly. His fight with Ulquiorra left him severely damaged and it took him months to recover, even with Orihime's healing powers. Karakura had been saved by the 13 Squads' quick thinking and amazing tactics, but things were still not the same. Too many casualties. Too many close calls. And he almost lost all of them.

Them. His friends, his comrades. Ichigo looked over his shoulder to the row next to him. Kuchiki Rukia sat there ignoring the lesson and doodling bunnies all over the paper in front of her. Her lavender eyes remained focused on the task of drawing horrible rabbit cartoons. She shook her head, a raven bang shifting out from her view. He remembered feeling her reiatsu fading in the depths of Hueco Mundo and wanted to go to her. He was stopped in order to fetch Orihime, but he still kicked himself for not even trying to visit her while she was recovering in Soul Society. The day she showed up on his doorstep stayed fresh in his mind.

"_You look like hell."_

"_Thanks, midget."_

"_Shut up, strawberry head." Rukia pushed past him, bumping an injured shoulder as a greeting on the way in. Ichigo just scratched his head as his family greeted her with hugs and questions about her "vacation."_

Rukia felt a pair of eyes on her and looked up from her bunny masterpieces. Ichigo seemed to be staring at her intensely. It was a jarring feeling. But then he broke contact casually and turned his attention elsewhere. He must have just been zoning out, he'd been doing that a lot lately. There hadn't been many hollow attacks since Aizen's failed attempt at complete immortality and as a result, they were barely speaking or even fighting. Something just seemed different since the Winter War.

Ichigo had seemed glad to see her when she came back to Karakura, but Rukia couldn't tell for sure. Maybe she shouldn't have begged her brother to let her stay on assignment in the real world. Maybe coming back was a mistake. She shouldn't even be here. It was wrong to have ties to the real world.

Ishida Uryuu sat silently sketching new clothing designs during class when he felt Ichigo look in his direction. He turned to acknowledge the orange-haired boy with a nod and involuntarily pushed his glasses up the ridge of his sharp nose. Ichigo just looked away and stared out the window. Ishida raised an eyebrow from the gesture, his dark eyes slightly confused. Something just didn't seem right these days, but it wasn't in his nature to ask, especially for a Substitute Shinigami. Ishida's gaze drifted back to Orihime's chair, who sat there with a concerned look for Ichigo. Internally, Ishida sneered at the thought. _Concerned for him? Why? He doesn't even notice her._ He could almost feel his black hair glowing red with misguided anger.

Orihime rested her head on a delicate hand, stealing glances at Ichigo. Her hazel eyes softened at the thought of him and she pushed back a stand of bright orange hair that fell across her face. After all this time, she still couldn't bring herself to tell him how she felt. Part of her felt like a coward, but the other part knew her confession would be pointless. Even though he risked his own life several times to save her from damnation in Hueco Mundo, she never felt that spark in return. But still, she couldn't help but notice him. She glanced around the room and caught eyes with Ishida. He seemed surprised to see her catch his stare and quickly turned around. As he turned, she noticed a hint of pink reach his cheeks. _Did he just…blush?_

Chad—Sado Yasutora—leaned his large frame back in the desk that was too small for him, silently observing his four closest friends. They had been through a lot over the past year, first with Rukia and then with Orihime. The new school year had started out on a rocky path with Ichigo recovering from his injuries and Rukia coming back to Karakura. Still, the tanned teenager was the optimist of the group, knowing that change in pace would come. He placed his arms behind his head, supporting his neck. The sun was bright outside and summer break would be here soon.

The group's thoughts were interrupted by the shrill a bell, indicated the end of the day. "Remember class, tomorrow is the last day before the summer break, so study up for your remaining exams!" the teacher raised her voice over the chatter of the students.

"Yo, you ready to go home?" Ichigo stood towering over Rukia, who was still packing her bag.

"Sure," she simply replied and followed him out the classroom door. She wouldn't admit it, but she missed their petty fighting. Being civil just didn't suit them. They bid farewell to their friends and started walking to the Kurosaki clinic. "Can I borrow your notes for the biology test tomorrow?" Rukia broke the silence.

"Why? Didn't you take your own?" Ichigo watched her reaction as he spoke. "Or did you spend that whole time on your horrible drawings?"

"My drawings are _**not**_ horrible, jackass. You just can't appreciate talent."

"I appreciate talent. You just don't have it." Ichigo held a smug grin across his face. Rukia's fist connected perfectly with it. The two wrestled, Rukia ending up the victor, straddling Ichigo's back with her tiny hand pressing his face into the concrete. "Apologize," she demanded, an angry vein beginning to show on her forehead.

"Hell no!" Ichigo got out in a muffled breath, his lips scraping against the rough ground. How is it that he could achieve Bankai, surpassing Rukia's strength as a Shinigami but she could still kick his ass in a gigai? It didn't make any sense. Ichigo convinced himself that he let her win.

"Apologize!" she demanded again, pushing his face harder against the sidewalk. Ichigo grinned, his cheeks rubbing against the grain of the concrete. "You know it's going to take more than that," he said slyly.

Rukia stabbed an index finger into Ichigo's shoulder and chanted, "Way of Destruction #4 Whi—"

"Oi, no kido!" Ichigo found his strength and stood up quickly, Rukia tumbling off his back with grace. She stood in front of him looking victorious, her hands proudly resting on her hips. "You are such a bit—" Ichigo would have finished his name-calling, but was interrupted by Rukia's cell phone going off. She grabbed it out of her bag and flipped open the clamshell, the Chappy the Bunny charm sounding tiny bells as she read the message.

Ichigo wiped the dirt off his face with the back of his wrist. "Hollow?" he asked, a hint of excitement escaping in the tone of his voice.

Rukia looked up from the screen with a crooked smile. "Lots."

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**Author's Notes**

Sorry for the slow start, but I promise things will pick up soon.

Characters are important to establish, even though you all know who they are.  
I'm using the Japanese form for name order: Last name, First name. I'm just used to that.  
I did a lot of research before starting this. Just to clarify, the Japanese school term starts in April.  
The first break is summer, from mid-July through the end of August.

Action and drama coming up next! ^_^

**PLEASE READ & REVIEW**

(new Chapters every Wednesday!)


	2. Running from Monsters

The screams of a little girl echoed through the alleys as she ran. People looked at her oddly, she seemed to be running and crying from…nothing. But there was something there, pushing its way through the sparse crowd and destroying sides of buildings and fences as it moved down the street after the girl.

The girl looked back at the monster chasing her, wondering why no one would help her. Her silver eyes were covered with tears and her long, plum colored hair whipped behind her as she ran for her life. She ran down another alley. Empty. And a dead end. She cowered in the corner, curling up into a ball.

Suddenly someone was standing in front of her, gripping a huge black sword with a silver edge shaped like a chef's knife. "Getsuga Tenshou!" she heard him shout. She watched in awe as a crescent shape of black light came out from the sword, slamming into the skull mask of the monster that was chasing her. His black robes fluttered in the remaining wind from the finishing blow. The monster dissolved into the air, leaving her alone with the man with the sword.

But then, they weren't alone. A young woman appeared almost instantaneously next to him in a matching black robe, breathing heavily. "What the hell was that for? You didn't need to bust out with that, Ichigo!"

"Oh, shut up! Do you know how long it's been since I've had a decent fight? Besides, I don't have to follow Soul Society's rules."

"That doesn't mean you can just go off blasting everything in sight! You know your spirit power can influence people easily." The young woman slapped the orange-haired man she called Ichigo upside the head. "It was the last Hollow of the bunch," he rebutted.

The little girl's eyes widened and a whimper escaped her lips. The noise immediately grabbed the two's attention.

Her lower lip trembling, the little girl looked at the two people with curiosity and gratitude. "What was that monster?" she softly spoke, looking directly at both of them.

The man and woman looked at each other and then back at her. "You can see us?" they asked simultaneously. The little girl cautiously nodded, her brow furrowing with confusion. "Who are you?"

The young woman was the first to step forward, bending down and extending her hand in greeting. Her smile was warm. "I'm Rukia."

The little girl swallowed and accepted Rukia's open hand to stand up. "Ben-Ten," the little girl spoke quietly, her voice nearly under her breath.

"Ben-Ten-chan? Are you hurt?" Rukia's eyes were a pretty violet with a hint of blue in the light.

Ben-Ten shook her head no.

"Were you scared?"

Ben-Ten jutted out her bottom lip and felt tears fall from her eyes. She nodded yes. Rukia smiled sweetly. "It's okay to be scared." She kneeled down further until she was at eye-level with Ben-Ten.

"Will there be more monsters?" Ben-Ten said to Rukia.

Rukia bit her bottom lip and looked up at Ichigo. She thought for a moment before answering. "Maybe," she finally said. "But don't worry. Ichigo," she motioned towards the orange-haired man, "and I will make all these monsters go away."

Ben-Ten smiled through her tears before suddenly snapping her head in the direction of a human voice. "That's my daddy. I got lost when the monster showed up." She dropped Rukia's hands and ran towards the opening of the alley. "Thank you, Rukia-onee-san and Ichigo-oni-san." Ben-Ten waved goodbye before running completely out of the alley.

"Wait!" shouted Ichigo, trailing after her. When he got to the street he looked both ways, but Ben-Ten could not be found. Rukia caught up with him at the street corner. "What was that about?"

Ichigo's brows furrowed deep in thought. "I don't know. Just…something I noticed."

"You couldn't feel a spiritual power from her, right?" Rukia answered the silent question for him.

Ichigo turned to Rukia with surprise. "You didn't either?"

Rukia looked down, tucking her katana into the hakama belt. She shook her head to answer Ichigo's question. "So the problem is, why were the hollows after her?"

"And without reiatsu, how could she see us?" Ichigo said the last sentence as a statement.

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Ishida, Orihime and Chad had felt the rise of hollows and ran to the area where they were sprouting from. By the time they got to the street corner, they were just in time to see Rukia and Ichigo finishing off the last hollow. The threat was gone for now.

"That was the first major hollow attack I've seen since we got back," Ishida commented. "It's odd. You'd think they would have been showing up for souls before then."

Chad just nodded in agreement. His eyes were barely visible under the thick dark brown curls around his face.

Orihime nodded too, her eyes not leaving the sight of Ichigo and Rukia in Shinigami form walking close to each other, playfully bumping the other with a stray elbow. She knew she shouldn't be jealous but couldn't help it. Ishida caught sight of her reaction and frowned. _How dare that orange-haired asshole make her feel pain._ He gulped the suddenly dry patch in his throat. "Inoue-san, may I walk you home?" he blurted out.

Orihime broke her gaze immediately at Ishida's sudden—and rather loud—question. He looked serious and slightly nervous, his posture remaining perfectly straight as he awaited her answer. "S-Sure, Ishida-kun." She smiled. "See you tomorrow, Sado-kun," she addressed Chad. He bid farewell with a simple wave.

Ishida wasn't sure why he suddenly needed to walk Orihime home. She was perfectly capable of getting there herself, even with hollows lurking around. But something inside him clicked and he couldn't bear to see her upset over that dumb Ichigo anymore. He stole glances at her every few minutes on their silent walk to her apartment.

Orihime was still stunned by Ishida's forwardness. He had never asked to walk her home before. In fact, no boy had really asked to walk her home since Tatsuki would beat the snot out of them if they tried. "All those boys want is one thing," Tatsuki would explain. Orihime was grateful she never had to deal with inappropriate actions from teenage boys with her around. Ishida was just a friend, so this wasn't anything big…was it?

She casually turned her head to his as they walked and smiled when his eyes connected with hers. He slightly smiled in return. Suddenly Orihime yelped and jumped back, running into Ishida's chest.

"Snake!" she screamed, frantically pointing down to the sidewalk. Ishida looked over the vibrant orange of Orihime's hair and tried to ignore the sweet smell of berries. He saw a small garter snake, no larger than one foot long, slither lazily across the sidewalk.

"Zai, come back!" a tiny voice called, emerging from the break in the buildings. The girl dove to catch the bright green snake, prompting Orihime to lose her balance and fall back on Ishida. "Got 'cha!" the little girl exclaimed once she had the snake in her grasp, its slender body coiling and twisting around her tiny fist. She then turned her attention to the two people she had knocked down in the process, her silver eyes wide and dark purple hair flying in the wind.

"I'm so sorry!" she apologized to Orihime and Ishida. "Zai," she picked up the snake higher to explain, "he got away from me." The little girl grinned widely before bolting off in the same direction she came from.

Orihime had braced her hand against Ishida's chest for support, then quickly removed it and stood up, dusting herself off before offering a hand of help to him. Ishida hesitantly accepted her open hand and lifted himself off the ground. He felt a spark go through him when his fingers touched hers. Orihime seemed not to notice though, straightening her hair after the fall. "What was that?" she asked.

"I don't know," answered Ishida. _But there was definitely a spark._

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**PLEASE READ AND REVIEW**

Okay so I lied about new Chapters every Wednesday... ^_^  
Seems this story is going along really fast, so I will be updating **twice **a week!  
Look forward to **updates on Tuesdays and Fridays**!

A big Thank You to Pippin's Socks for Beta reading ::thumbs up::

Also, thank you to those who reviewed and added this story to their alert list!


	3. Revelations

Ichigo stretched his arms into the air, glad to be done with the final exams. It was time for summer break and he couldn't wait to do nothing related to school. Not to mention he could ask Urahara for training space in the underground of his shop now that hollows were showing up again. He was just itching for another fight.

"Oi!" he heard a voice behind him. Ichigo turned to see a vibrant redhead with visible facial and body tattoos walking towards him. A wide grin formed on Ichigo's face. "Renji!" Finally, someone he could spar with.

Abarai Renji walked straight up to him, then gained some momentum and slammed a fist into the side of Ichigo's head. Ichigo yelped in surprise more than pain and got right into Renji's face. "What the fuck was that for, Renji!"

"You've gotten weak," the redhead sneered. Ichigo was about to deliver a punch in return when he heard Rukia squeal with surprise.

"Renji!" Rukia exclaimed, running up to the large man with bright eyes. "What are you doing here?"

Renji shrugged like it was no big deal. "I've got some vacation time to cash in and needed some stuff from Urahara. You know how he is. He'll trade room and board for working in his shop. Besides, now I can save up to get some new Silver Dragonfly Glasses since _**someone**_," he motioned in Ichigo's direction, "broke my last pair."

"That was almost a year ago!" Ichigo argued.

"And they cost a half a year's salary!" Renji narrowed his beady brown eyes at Ichigo in rage. The kid could never understand the importance of these sunglasses. "I should make you pay for them!"

"Jackass! It's not my fault that you were too much of a pussy to deal with me!"

Renji grabbed Ichigo by the collar and lifted him off the ground. "Why you little—!"

"Hey! Cut the macho bull!" Rukia pushed them both aside. She was aware they were gathering a crowd of onlookers but the boys could care less. "Urahara's back then?" she asked Renji.

"Yeah. He made me carry supplies back from Soul Society to his shop."

Rukia averted her eyes to Ichigo and they seemed to have a silent conversation. "We should go talk to him," she looked serious now, her short eyebrows forming a tight "V."

Ichigo nodded with the same serious face. "Let's go."

"Oi! What's going on?" Renji didn't like the looks on their faces. If there was trouble in this town, he wanted a piece of the action.

"There's something new here," Rukia explained. "Just…watch your back." The pair retreated, leaving to discuss the recent events with Urahara. Renji was about to go after them, furious that they wouldn't share information, but he was stopped by a sing-song voice.

"Abarai-kun!"

Renji looked over his shoulder to see a bouncy orange-haired girl skipping towards him with a wide smile across her face. Her aqua hairpins sparkled in the afternoon sun. "Hey, Inoue!"

"What are you doing here?" Orihime asked, her bright hazel eyes shining.

"Working in Urahara's shop for the summer."

"That's great! It's good to see you," Orihime grinned, but her grin sloped down when she saw Ichigo and Rukia leaving together. His hand had moved to the small of her back so she could pass in front of him at the school gate.

Renji saw Orihime's reaction and knew exactly how she felt. The only difference was he had come to terms with the inevitable long ago. The brightness from her eyes faded out with a look of longing. Renji placed a large hand on Orihime's shoulder for comfort. "Sucks, doesn't it?" he said.

Orihime was surprised at Renji's actions. He was watching them walk away, too, with sad eyes. "I don't know what you mean," she tried to cover up.

"To love someone who doesn't love you." Renji gave her a somber smile. He moved his hand a shoved it in a loose pocket.

Orihime was taken aback. _When did he become so insightful? Am I that obvious? _She bit her bottom lip, taken off guard by his comment. She had suspected Renji had strong feelings for Rukia, but she didn't know to what extent. Understanding where he was coming from, she asked him for a bit of advice. "How did you deal with it?"

Renji sighed and kicked the dirt from under the shade of the tree where they were standing. "If she's happy, then I'm happy." He looked up from the ground at Orihime. "Even if that means she's not with me."

Orihime nodded, accepting what Renji meant by his words. She decided that is what she would have to do. If Ichigo was happy—and he was—then she would be happy too. Still, she felt her eyes well up with tears.

Renji tucked his head down and lifted Orihime's chin up to face him. "I didn't say it would be easy. Or that it wouldn't hurt. But eventually, you learn to deal." Orihime nodded and gave him a weak smile. She could feel a lone tear trickle down her cheek.

"Why you slimy bastard!" she heard a female voice cry out from not far away. Without warning, a foot can flying through the air and connected with the side of Renji's face. He fell to the ground unceremoniously and struggled to get his body up. _Damn this gigai!_ he cursed to himself.

"What the fuck!" he yelled at the figure standing over him. The shade parted and a tall, slender teenager towered over him, getting redder by the second. Her dark eyes were throwing daggers at him and her short, spiky black hair wanted to impale him. Suddenly she lunged, fist coiled back to deliver a blow.

"Tatsuki, stop!" Orihime cried out, pulling the girl's punching arm back with both hands. The girl relaxed her muscles at the sound of Orihime's objection, but her face remained scowled. "Abarai-kun didn't make me cry," Orihime soothed, "I did." She looked at Tatsuki with pleading eyes.

Reluctantly, Tatsuki lowered her fist and placed her hands on her hips. She looked straight down at Renji. "So you're Abarai Renji, Ichigo's…cousin?" She seemed to dismiss that last part as a rumor around the school.

Renji stood up, rubbing the side of his face from her kick. "From the way you hit, you must be Arisawa Tatsuki." She sure had some good fighting skills. Ichigo could learn a thing or two from that woman.

The two stood in a staring contest until a tall figure walked by them in greeting. "Abarai," Ishida acknowledged while walking off the school grounds. "Ishida," Renji waved in response. The Quincy coldly kept to his path as usual. No one noticed that Orihime watched him leave.

"Well, I'd _**love**_ to stay and chat, but we have plans." Tatsuki's voice dripped with sarcasm. "It's the last day of school and all."

"Don't let me keep you," Renji rebutted.

"I won't." Tatsuki's eyes narrowed as she spoke. She turned a bewildered Orihime around and led her off the school property. "See you around, Abarai-kun!" Orihime said over her shoulder.

Renji waved in response and was left alone on Karakura High School grounds. A large shadow nearly made him jump out of his gigai, but he turned and saw the shadow belonged to Chad. "Oi, Sado!"

"Abarai-san," was all Chad said.

"Since everyone's busy, you can keep me company," Renji said with a plan scheming in his head. He put his arm around Chad's shoulders, a futile gesture because of Chad's massive frame. "Sake bomb contest?"

Later that night, Chad walked a drunken Renji to Urahara's shop. "Walked," meaning Chad walked while carrying a passed out Renji. Chad didn't drink, so Renji insisted he took Chad's shots in order to not waste the liquor. Of course, he had been pouring the drinks himself and Chad had learned to stop objecting.

Chad knocked on the door of the shop and Jinta answered, his bright crimson hair standing almost straight up. "Oh great, now we have to deal with a passed out freeloader!"

Chad simply shrugged and unloaded Renji on the front steps. Renji momentarily woke up and staggered in the shop, knocking over stands as he clumsily made his way to the back where he was staying. He barely made it to the room, falling down halfway in the doorway with one shoe still on.

Jinta growled, "I don't care if he has a hangover. I'm making him clean all this in the morning!" He slammed the door shut in anger, the draft pushing back Chad's hair away from his face.

After the eventful night, Chad was glad to get back home to solitary peace, but someone—or something—was following him. He stopped in his tracks and looked behind him, only to see a small garter snake slither into a nearby bush. He furrowed his brow, not sure why he would sense such a small creature that posed no threat, then shrugged and continued on his way.

The snake turned its head to see outside the bush, its eyes following Chad's steps, and smiled.

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**PLEASE READ AND REVIEW**

**Updates on Tuesdays and Fridays!**

Hmm...should I change the rating to M for the use of language??  
I don't know how many times I can use the "F" word before stepping out of the T rating...

As usual Thank You to Pippin's Socks for Beta reading ::glomps::


	4. The Battle Begins

Rukia sighed, looking up from her sketchbook full of bunnies. "I'm so bored. Want to go watch a movie?"

"In public? With you? No thanks." Ichigo mumbled, his eyes fixated on the screen in front of him. _This freaking level is impossible!_ He dodged just in time as a pencil flew sailing at his head like a dart. The pencil tapped the screen as the announcer in the game said, "K.O." The monstrous character that reminded him of Mayuri cackled in victory.

"Dammit, Rukia!" Ichigo exclaimed. "You just made me lose!"

Rukia scoffed, "You've been trying to beat that boss for days, don't you dare pin this on me."

With a growl, Ichigo tossed the game controller on the carpet. "If only I could use my Bankai in that damn game…" His thoughts were interrupted by a beeping from Rukia's cell phone. "Please tell me that's a hollow," he spoke. "I really need to kick someone's ass today."

"You're in luck," Rukia said, turning her phone around so Ichigo could see the screen. "There are three."

"Finally!" Ichigo pulled the soul badge out of his pocket and pressed it against his chest. His spiritual body was immediately separated from its moral shell. Ichigo watched as his own body slumped lifeless on the floor. Rukia popped a candy into her mouth from a dispenser and her spirit body was pulled out as well. "Chappy," she spoke to the artificial spirit in her gigai, "Find Kon and put him into Ichigo's body. We'll be back soon."

"Will do, Kuchiki-sama!" Rukia's body waved and grinned enthusiastically. Chappy kept waving, even after the two Shinigami's jumped out Ichigo's bedroom window.

"Where are they?" Ichigo asked, following close behind Rukia as she bounded from rooftop to rooftop.

Rukia watched her cell phone screen as three red dots moved around slowly. "By the park," she answered. "We're close now."

As the park came into view, three very large hollows swam in the air. They were all serpentine shaped creatures hunting for a tasty soul to devour. Their empty, metallic screams filled the air. When they smelled the large spirit power of the Shinigami approach, they pulled their bodies to attack.

Ichigo was the first to strike, his zanpaktou unwrapping as he grabbed it from his back. He wanted to drag the fight out a little, needing some release after losing his video game. He sliced Zangetsu cleanly through all three hollows, cutting their bodies into smaller bits.

Big mistake.

Rukia drew her sword as she watched the mangled pieces of the squirming hollow suddenly spasm and sprout new masks, lengthening their bodies. What were three hollows were now at least fifteen. _Nice going, Ichigo._ She gritted her teeth with frustration. He would never learn. "Baka!" she screamed at him.

She had killed at least four of the hollows by slicing through their masks by the time she felt another presence on the scene. "Howl, Zabimaru!" she heard a familiar voice shout out.

"Renji, no!" Rukia yelled to the hot-tempered redhead, but it was too late. Cocky, arrogant Renji perched on a telephone pole looking smug. His smile dropped when he saw that the pieces of the creature regenerated itself into multiple hollows. "Oh crap," she saw him mouth.

Rukia surveyed the area. What Ichigo had made into fifteen hollows—even minus the four she killed—Renji had turned into over thirty. The tangled, slimy mess gyrated around in front of the three Shinigami. "Renji, you idiot! Didn't you recognize what kind of hollows these were?!" She felt a vein on her head about to pop from anger.

Renji gave her a crooked smile and a glare. "Sorry, Rukia. You know I've never been the book type."

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Tatsuki heard the tiny ring of a bell on the door as she exited the bakery. It was a quiet summer night and the weather was getting warmer every day. The summer festival, Tanabata—The Evening of the Seventh—was still a few weeks away, but stores were already selling yukatas, printed materials and other traditional accessories. She was tempted to browse through the items but the fresh sweet bread she was carrying made her stomach growl with hunger.

Her parents wouldn't be upset if one roll was missing, would they? Tatsuki began to open the bag of still steaming bread but stopped when she heard a small sob. She spun her head to see where the noise came from to find a young girl leaning against the building of the bakery store silently crying. The Good Samaritan in Tatsuki won out over the hunger pains in her stomach.

"Are you okay?" Tatsuki walked over to the girl. The child suddenly looked up at her with huge silver eyes filled with tears. "I'm lost," said the girl. A dark purple bang stuck to her face by her damp cheeks.

Tatsuki leaned down so she was at eye-level with the child. "I can help you," she spoke with kind eyes and a small smile. "I'm Tatsuki. What's your name?"

The little girl sniffled and rubbed the back of her hand against her runny nose. "Ben-Ten."

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Orihime sat in her studio apartment, arranging pictures in a scrapbook from over the year. So many things had changed this year it was an odd array of shots. At the beginning it was just her, Tatsuki and a few other girls from their class. Then, pictures of Ichigo, Rukia, Ishida and Chad slowly began to fill the void in her life. Low and behold, Urahara, Yoruichi, Renji and others from the Soul Society world began to show up, adding in more faces to her circle of friends.

Then there was suddenly a gap.

There were no photos of snowmen and snow fights. No happy group huddled together from the cold, drinking coffee or hot chocolate. The entire winter season was missing. Her opportunities for making more memories had been stolen from her.

The Winter War.

And she had become a willing servant of Aizen.

She felt herself stiffen from the sudden flush of memories being captive in Hueco Mundo. She wished those thoughts were like these photos in front of her. If the photo didn't come out right, she could just throw it away and forget about it. But memories weren't like photos that could be easily discarded. They stayed in her mind, always lurking behind her actions.

Orihime shook her head, trying to shake out the morbid thoughts. She was okay now, back here with friends and people she loved. She turned her attention to newer pictures from the beginning of her school year as their 11th year started back in April. There weren't many, but there were enough to make a few pages of new memories filled with smiling faces.

Something caught her eye as she flipped through the new images. Ichigo held a fake smile until Rukia started showing up in shots. Those pictures stung, to see Ichigo change from pretending to be happy, to actually being happy when Rukia was around. And if they weren't smiling in a shot, they were fighting. Swallowing her feelings, she picked out the best two of that series to put in her scrapbook: one of them smiling, one of them fighting.

The next image caught her attention even more: a picture of Ishida looking into the camera as she framed the shot. At first glance he seemed distant as usual, but when she took a closer look there was something there. His gaze was intense, longing, and a little sad. He seemed to want something but kept it in close so no one could see. His eyes were so conflicted with emotion she felt herself grow nervous as if she found a secret.

Suddenly, Orihime snapped her head around the moment she felt a reiatsu spike. Ichigo was fighting. Then another two hit her in waves. Rukia and Renji were also in combat. It was only a matter of time before the hollow attack spilled further.

Determined to help, Orihime left her pictures scattered on the floor to join the battle.

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**PLEASE READ AND REVIEW**

**Updates on Tuesdays and Fridays!**

I will keep the rating "T" after some reviews came in. There won't be any lemons, gore, or extreme language.

As usual Thank You to Pippin's Socks for Beta reading!


	5. Awkward Positions

Ishida sketched at his desk under a light. Although his father wanted him to become a doctor, Ishida knew in his heart he wasn't cut out for medical school. If he wanted to a scholarship to Bunka Fashion College—the most prestigious fashion school in Japan—he needed to have a stellar portfolio. If he became a fashion designer, his father would surely disown him. Perfect.

Ishida felt his head twitch as the rise in reiatsu was apparent. The Shinigami's had been fighting for a short while, but the number of hollows seemed to be increasing exponentially. It bothered him, but that was Shinigami business, not a Quincy's problem. His eyes went wide when he felt Orihime's reiatsu appear. It hummed like a song against the rhythms of Shinigami spirit power. _Argh, that woman_, he scolded. _Why did she decide to join the fight?_

Sighing, Ishida stood up from his work and slid a Quincy glove over his hand.

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"Renji, you ass! Stop using Zabimaru so much and just kill these damn things!" Ichigo shouted. The wild strokes of using Zabimaru like a whip ended up causing more harm than good. As the extended sections of Renji's blade moved through the air, he ended up cutting more pieces off the creatures' bodies, which turned into more hollows.

This was getting out of control. Rukia mentally counted the number of hollows that had formed since the first cuts were made. 3 became 15. 15 became 33. 33 now became 51. Using kido was pointless unless the blast hit them in the mask and simply injuring the hollow just sprouted more.

"Renji, some are heading for the town! You take care of them and we'll get the rest!" Rukia barked orders to the Vice-Captain.

"Where the hell do you think I'm going?" Renji yelled back to her, already moving along treetops after the rouge hollows.

_Dammit Renji, look what at what a mess you made!_ Rukia cursed to herself. As the next in command to her brother, she thought he would have known better. But then again, he was Renji: impatient, headstrong and reckless.

Her fuming thoughts were interrupted by a strong flick of one of the hollow's tails smacking her in the side. Rukia sailed through the air and slammed into Ichigo chest, making him lose his balance. They fell together, straight down in an open clearing. Ichigo hit the ground first, dust kicking up around his robes. She landed on him within milliseconds, ending up nose to nose with the orange-haired firecracker when she pushed herself up. She moved her legs and shockingly realized she was straddling him.

"Rukia, what the hell happened?" Ichigo said, his eyes closed tight from the hard landing. He opened them to send a death glare but the fire quickly died when he noticed how close she was to him. Rukia's eyes were wide with disbelief and a quick flush of pink reached her cheeks. His eyes darted around her dark black locks to see no less than ten hollows rushing towards them; mouths open to devour their souls.

"Getsuga Tenshou!" he shouted and flung Zangetsu across his body, holding Rukia tight against him so she wouldn't be harmed from the crescent blast. He grasped her so close against his chest she could easily breathe in the smell of sweat, dirt and that crisp scent that was distinctly Ichigo. Luckily, all the hollows' masks were facing him, so they dissolved into the air once the black light hit them.

Panting, Ichigo put his head back against the ground and looked at Rukia. It was hard not to notice how pretty she was now that she was laying on him with her face so close. His arm was still wrapped around her tiny waist in a protective manner.

Testosterone pumping through his system, his eyes instinctively drifted down from her face to her neck and… he stopped and turned red, quickly pulling his gaze up to her. "Uh, Rukia…?" he said quietly. His eyes darted from her face to her chest. Her robes had dislodged a bit and he could see clearly down to the curves of her breasts.

At his reaction, Rukia snapped her head down to see what the commotion was about, flushed from pink to bright red and clutched her garment closed. "Pervert!" she screamed, and thrust the heel of her hand directly at Ichigo's nose. She pushed herself off of him and bounded away to kill the remaining hollows. As Ichigo laid there for a few seconds, wiping blood off his nose, he couldn't help but hear Kon's voice in his head.

_Nice view._

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Tatsuki held Ben-Ten's hand as they walked down the street. "Do you know where you live?" the strong teenager asked the fragile child.

Ben-Ten looked around at where they were, not far from the store and shook her head no. She sniffled and squeezed Tatsuki's hand. "Well let's find a nice police officer and he can find your house." Tatsuki's voice was soothing over the child's sobs.

"Will you come with me, Onee-chan?" Ben-Ten asked with huge, pleading eyes. They glinted silver even in the night.

Tatsuki suddenly looked up into the sky head of them, hearing the metallic screams of hollows sound through the air. _Not good, _she bit her lip. "Um, let's look around over here to find an officer." Tatsuki walked faster, practically dragging the child down the street to a well-lit area near a pay phone. She cursed herself at forgetting her cellular at home.

"Onee-chan!" Ben-Ten cried out. She stopped in her tracks and pointed into the sky. "What is that monster?!"

Tatsuki spun to see a large, snake-like hollow heading towards them, ready to open its mouth and take their souls. She quickly turned to Ben-Ten and kneeled, grasping her shoulders with both hands. "Whatever you do, don't open you eyes okay?" She spoke with a waver in her voice, not sure what her next move would be.

"I'll protect you, no matter what." She gave the girl a grin of reassurance but her eyes said otherwise. Nevertheless, Ben-Ten nodded fiercely and shut her eyes tight. Tatsuki wrapped her body around the child to protect her and expected the worse.

She waited and the hollow didn't come. Instead, she saw a man dressed in black samurai clothing appear between herself, Ben-Ten and the monster. With a war cry, the longhaired redhead sliced his sword through the hollow's face, and the creature dissolved in front of them. She looked at him with wide eyes as the light evening breeze kicked back some of his robes and revealed tribal body tattoos. "Abarai?" she spoke with surprise.

Renji spun with the realization that Tatsuki could see him plain as day. "Arisawa? How the hell can you see me?" More screams from hollows came closer. He held up a finger to her face as if he was scolding her. "Hold that thought. This won't take long." With a light push, he was sailing through the air, using various items to gain momentum as the hollows approached.

Tatsuki watched as Renji skillfully used his blade to kill the creatures. She almost relaxed with the knowledge that Renji was a Shinigami, like Ichigo and Rukia.

Almost. She looked up in horror as a hollow slipped past Renji, approaching from the side of the street.

_No._

It came quickly, the gap closing faster than she could image.

_NO._

The hollow motioned to open its jaw, ready to strike.

"NO!" Tatsuki heard herself cry out. Her arms moved, their muscles trained in high levels of a black belt in Karate. She felt her fist thrust forward, connecting with the hollow's mask right between the eyes. It screamed and writhed in the street, then steadied itself for another attack. Tatsuki held her ground. She would not break her promise to Ben-Ten.

Tatsuki lifted her hands in front of her, prepared for another strike. The hollow started to move towards her but suddenly stopped. She watched in shock as a crack began to form on the spot she punched. The crack grew, a beam of light emitting from it as the hollow's mask split open. Then the monster's body dissolved in front of her.

"Now _**that**_ was impressive for a human," Renji said with a low whistle.

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**PLEASE READ AND REVIEW**

**Updates on Tuesdays and Fridays!**

Well things seem to be going along quickly on my end, so I may move the updating schedule up a bit.  
The chapters are short so this may leave people wanting more. I'll see what my beta says and what you guys think ;)

Thank You to Pippin's Socks for Beta reading! ::huggies::


	6. Mistakes

Orihime's breathing became quick and shallow as she jogged down the street. The battle was still raging but most of the hollows had been eliminated. She could sense many near the park and a few making their way into town. Her eyes narrowed, determined to get there in time to help her comrades. She was so focused she didn't even see the thin boy she was about to run into.

"Ouch! I'm so sorry!" Orihime cried out as they collided. She shook her head out of the impact, slightly jarred.

"Where are you running off to, Inoue-san?"

_Oops._ She was so fixed on finding Ichigo she hadn't even sensed Ishida. There he was, the proud Quincy, adjusting his glasses after their collision. He looked at her with those same eyes she saw in the photo of him and it shook her to the core. Why hadn't she seen it before? Had she been so jaded by her crush on Ichigo she had never noticed?

Orihime cleared her throat to focus her thoughts. "Can't you sense them? I'm going to help."

"It's a simple hollow attack, Inoue-san. They can take care of it themselves." Ishida always seemed calm and collected.

She nearly scoffed at his attitude, nonetheless. "Don't you care? They're our friends. I want to help." Orihime closed her fist tightly across her heart.

"What for? The threat is gone." Ishida cocked his head to the side to gauge her reaction.

She dropped her mouth in order to retaliate, but quickly closed it. He was right. She could sense the hollow numbers dropping rapidly and her friends' reiatsu returning to its normal steady state. Orihime felt her knuckles turning white as something bubbled up inside her. "Why do you always do that Ishida?!" she practically shouted.

Orihime's sudden outburst felt like a slap across Ishida's face. He didn't even notice she had dropped the formal suffix on his last name. His brows narrowed in confusion.

"You…You always hold me back! Do you think that I'm not strong enough? That I can't handle a fight on my own?" Orihime couldn't even look at him as she spoke. She must have really been fuming. Ishida wondered how long she had been holding this in. When Orihime got mad, it was rare but deserved.

Ishida blinked. He didn't know what to say. He couldn't tell her now, not like this. How could he? How could he explain that he couldn't stand to see her in pain? How could he describe what seeing her lively face meant to him?

Orihime bit her lip and closed her eyes to simmer down. "I see," she spoke softly. "Your silence says it all." She turned on her heel and walked back to her apartment. The only things Ishida could hear were her footsteps on the sidewalk and his heart pounding in his ears.

"Inoue-san," he started. Orihime put a hand up to silence him.

"Don't," she spoke flatly over her shoulder. "You've already said enough."

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The last of the hollows were slain and Rukia breathed a sigh of relief. What a crap fight this turned out to be. Because of that reckless strawberry-head and the idiot red pineapple the battle dragged on longer than necessary. She sucked in air through her lungs, glad to have not resorted to completely unveiling her zanpaktou. With a thud of the ground, a slightly tired Ichigo sat next to her.

Rukia froze. How was she supposed to act around Ichigo now? It was bad enough she found herself sprawled on top of him in a compromising position, but then he saw… Rukia felt her cheeks grow hot at the memory.

Ichigo chuckled and patted her knee as a friendly gesture. "It's okay, Rukia. I won't tell Byakuya if you won't." He grinned deviously. "I'm sure you didn't _**really**_ mean to flash me."

_Goddammit_. Rukia stuck a fist straight out of her side, easily slamming it into Ichigo's temple.

"Fuck! It was a joke, woman!" Ichigo rubbed the side of his head, his face twisted from in hot temper. "It's not like I was trying to look there. Why would I want to?"

Rukia wasn't sure why, but his last statement stung. She gritted her teeth and began to walk home. "Oi, Rukia!" she heard the Shinigami Substitute shout behind her. She quickened her pace into flash steps and was at home in a matter of minutes.

"Rukia, come on, it was a joke!" She heard Ichigo try to explain. Damn, his shunpo was also as fast as Yourichi's.

Ichigo perched in his open window and watched Rukia silently grab Chappy, quickly shifting back into her gigai. She never looked back at him as she exited his room in a huff, slamming the door behind her.

"Daaang, Ichigo," Kon said speaking in Ichigo's body, "What'd cha do this time?"

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"Seriously, that kicked ass," Renji said to the breathless Tatsuki. He patted her back the way a comrade would congratulate a sparring partner. "The only other human I've seen kill a hollow with a single punch is Sado."

Shaking, Tatsuki lifted her hands up to her face. Her right hand was bruised and the skin on her knuckles was cracked, already caking with blood. Then something dawned on her. Tatsuki's head spun so fast Renji thought it would fall off. "Where is she?" Tatsuki questioned frantically.

"Where is who?" Renji scratched his head and propped Zabimaru on a muscular shoulder.

Tatsuki looked at Renji like he had "stupid" written across his forehead. "The little girl," she spoke in a tone that sounded a lot like _Duh, Moron._ She looked around and searched the streets with her eyes. "She was right here. Ben-Ten. She was lost and I was trying to help her. Then those freaking hollows showed up."

"Woah, slow down," Renji put his hands up in defense. "I didn't see anyone here except for you cowering in the middle of the street."

Tatsuki narrowed her eyes and tried to comprehend what he was saying. "What?"

"Yeah, it was just you." Renji raised an eyebrow. The motion rippled all the way up the tattoos on his forehead. His eyes suddenly sparked with recognition. "Wait, did you say 'Ben-Ten?'"

"Yeah…" Tatsuki slowly let out. Talking to this big oaf was as bad as carrying on a conversation with Ichigo.

Renji slapped an open palm against his face, covering his eyes. "Urahara's going to kill me." His voice was muffled as he dragged the hand down his face.

"Why? What does that shop keeper have anything to do with Ben-Ten?"

Renji stopped his gesture, startled to find that Tatsuki knew so much about his connections. "Sorry, official Shinigami business," he mocked.

Tatsuki rolled her dark eyes. "Whatever. I just wanted to know what she was. It's obvious if I saw her and you didn't, that she's not human."

_Wow, another point to Arisawa,_ Renji thought. The girl had great intuition. Renji slightly grimaced, ready for another biting comment. "We…don't know for sure."

"Heh," Tatsuki scoffed, "Some _**official**_ Shinigami business. You're about as useless as Ichigo as a sparring partner."

Renji shook his head, not sure how to respond to her quick wit. Not surprisingly, she began to depart since he had nothing more to offer her.

"Oh," Renji heard her say as he turned to leave. "By the way, they don't know."

Renji looked at her with curiosity. "Orihime, Ichigo, none of them," Tatsuki explained. "None of them know that I can see hollows. Or that I know about what happened to Kuchiki-san in Soul Society or Orihime in Hueco Mundo."

Renji stood completely stunned by her suddenly vast knowledge. She pointed a steady finger in his direction. "And I expect things," she paused, narrowing her eyes, "to stay that way."

Still in shock, Renji couldn't find the words to say, so he simply nodded.

With one final wave over her shoulder, Tatsuki said, "Have a good night, Abarai-fukutaicho." She grinned to herself, knowing full well that Renji was standing there with his mouth gaping open.

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Chad leaned on the railing of the small balcony leading down to the steps of his apartment. He knew there had been a fight recently, feeling his comrades' reiatsu shift and spike as they battled. But he found it disturbing that he couldn't feel the presence of hollows. Was it a fluke? Or was it something more? Things hadn't felt exactly the same since coming back from Hueco Mundo and learning the source of his spiritual power.

He sighed, resting his head on a strong hand and gazed at the sparse starlight. Chad felt a pair of eyes watching him and turned his attention to a nearby tree. Amazingly, a beautiful woman stood lightly balanced on a delicate branch. He saw a bright green garter snake slither in her hand. She caught his eye and her silver eyes were hypnotic. Her deep plum hair whipped around her barely covered body. The snake whispered in her ear and she smiled at him.

Chad blinked, and she was gone.

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**REVIEWS ARE LOVE ^_^  
**

**NEW Update Schedule: Monday, Wednesday, Friday!  
**

My beta didn't get a chance to get back to me on this one yet, but I read over it again to fix any spelling/grammar.  
Anyway, this story is coming along insanely fast, so I'm updating 3 times a week now.  
Even I'm getting anxious to update quickly ;)

Plus I will be starting on a Byakuya/OC/Hisana story, so my mind is begging me to get NoS finished. Enjoy!


	7. Find a Solution

"So you had a chance to meet up with this 'Ben-Ten' and you didn't do anything about it?" Urahara spoke in his annoying singsong voice, just to mock him.

"That's not it," Renji argued his way through the conversation, "I didn't even know she was there. Arisawa was the only one who saw the girl."

"Hmm, so what you're saying is that Ichigo, Kuchiki-san, and Arisawa-san could see this girl, but you—a Vice-Captain—couldn't?" Urahara twirled his cane around. He was enjoying this way too much.

Renji growled and grabbed Urahara by his collar, the shop keeper's green and white hat falling off in the process. "That's _**not**_ what happened."

Urahara looked down where his hat had fallen with a pout. "Aww, you got it dirty," he whined to Renji. In the time Renji blinked, Urahara had moved behind him, the butt of his cane lightly pushing against the base of Renji's neck. He felt a drop of sweat form on his forehead as he held Urahara's empty robe in front of him.

"Now you should know better than to rough up the one who's feeding you and giving you a roof over your head." Urahara grinned like a fox catching its prey. "Just for that, you're working the booth at the Tanabata festival." He picked up his fingers to indicate numbers, "All three days. Have fun selling Chappy the Rabbit items."

Renji simply banged his head against the doorway, hoping it would render him into a coma.

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It had been days since Rukia so much as looked in Ichigo's direction and he couldn't figure out what she was so upset about. He supposed it was some girl problem and whatever it was, it was his fault. But deep down, he knew it was something he said that night. He racked his brain trying to figure out what it was.

Did he offend her? She knew how to take a joke, right?_ She did hit me after all…_But then he said something else before she stormed off…something about why would he ever want to look at her…

Ichigo closed his eyes at the revelation.

_Oh. Crap._

It was a lie, just to cover his ass. Why else had he spent days trying to figure out what was bothering her? Why would he even care?

Because he **did** care. Because he **had** started to see her in _that way_. She was no longer Kuchiki Rukia, Shinigami. She was Rukia: his closest friend, confidant, and the only woman who could stand on his level. _The only __**woman**_, he repeated to himself.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" Ichigo smacked himself in the head. He had blatantly insulted her and didn't even realize it. He just hoped it wasn't too late for a sincere apology.

"We all know you are," the voice of Karin, Ichigo's younger, tomboyish sister said aloud. She stood with her hands on her hips, her dark eyes glaring at him.

"What do you want, Karin?" Ichigo was in no mood. He never raised his voice to either of his sisters, but he was teetering on the edge at this point.

"Listen up," Karin marched right up to him and stuck a finger in his face. "I don't know what you did to Kuchiki-san, but you better make it up to her."

"I thought you didn't like her," he retaliated.

"I don't, but…" Karin paused and pouted. "When you guys aren't talking or fighting or anything you're just not the same. You don't act like my brother." In truth, she respected Rukia. She was just upset that Rukia was taking her brother further and further away from her fragile family.

Ichigo swallowed his pride. For an 11-year-old, Karin had amazing insight.

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Ishida frowned at his drawings. Nothing could come out right and he couldn't put his finger on exactly why. In an attempt to distract him, he browsed through his phone for recent messages. He scrolled through the short list before stopping on a particular name.

"Inoue Orihime" the highlighted name read.

He gulped, his mouth suddenly dry. He laid his head in a hand and leaned against his desk. He had really screwed things up this time. She would never forgive him. His non-responsive actions answered her rhetorical questions—at least in her mind. She thought he saw her as weak, as someone who got in the way and always got herself hurt. That couldn't be further from the truth.

He leaned back in his chair and swiveled himself around slowly with his foot. Then something in the corner of his room caught his eye. A cloth roll of deep turquoise, aqua, and purple stared back at him. He had picked up the roll of the hand painted silk blend months ago on an impulse buy. The fabric was just too beautiful to pass up. It was full of graceful gradients and saturated colors, painted in a Southeast Asian style called Batik. The technique was a coveted form of drawing with hot wax, then letting the colored ink bleed together in a wonderful harmony.

He walked over to the fabric roll, feeling its coolness between his fingers. It was soft and light. Perfect. He wouldn't even need sketch paper for this design. It stood out in his mind practically screaming to get out. He began draping the fabric over a mannequin and knew exactly what measurements were needed.

This would be his masterpiece.

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Tatsuki made her way to the familiar store, shuffling her feet along the way. Something was going on in this town, and like it or not, she was involved. She walked up to the porch just in time to see Ichigo walking out with a bag. She froze and knew he was going to have questions.

"Tatsuki, what are you doing here?" Ichigo spotted his childhood friend.

_Damn, think of something, quick!_

"I, um, like the sweets they sell here." Ichigo didn't look like he believed her. "Orihime asked me to pick some up on the way to her place." There. That sounded more like a realistic answer. Ichigo shrugged. _Whew, he bought it._

"Whatever," he casually waved. He knew Orihime had strange tastes in food, especially mixing sweets with normal dishes.

"You going to the Tanabata festival?" Tatsuki tried to make casual small talk.

"Maybe. Uh, listen, I gotta take care of something. Catch you later?" Ichigo held the plastic bag from his purchase in the shop close to him like it was precious.

"Later," Tatsuki waved. She continued her way into the weird shop. She had never really been in the here more than a few times before and fingered through the items in the small aisle. She didn't like lying to Ichigo, but she knew he would find out her secret if he knew the real reason why she was visiting the Shinigami shop.

"Arisawa, what are you doing here?" Renji cocked his head to the side, taking a break from sweeping the floor. In a weird way, he admired the human. Rukia looked like a fragile china doll to him, but Tatsuki looked like she could break a man in half with her eyes alone. Plus she could kick Ichigo's ass when it came to Karate. That gave points to her in any book.

"I called her," a voice came from the back. Urahara emerged in his usual manner, hat first. "Since you've been no help with our recent visitor, I had to get information from someone else." He grinned at the fiery redhead, whose face was so hot with anger its color matched his hair. He ignored the Vice-Captain and turned his attention to the teenage girl with short, spiky hair.

"Shall we?"

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**REVIEWS ARE LOVE 3  
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**NEW Update Schedule: Monday, Wednesday, Friday!  
**

I'm moving too fast for my beta! (Where are you, Pippin's Socks? _ )

Thanks to anyone who added this story to their alert list!


	8. Girls and Boys

"Who wants red bean paste on their popcorn?" Orihime chirped to the two girls sitting in her living room. Rukia and Tatsuki looked at each other in horror from the combination.

"No, thank you," Rukia politely responded with a smile.

"I'm okay without," followed Tatsuki.

Their rejection of her strange concoction didn't faze the bubbly girl. "More for me!" she exclaimed, scooping ladles full of the paste on her popcorn. "Now it's movie time," she grinned, walking into the room with a balancing act to hold all the bowls. Her two friends tried to hide their disgust looking at her snack.

Orihime put in the DVD and settled back with the girls against the cushions she laid out for the all-night movie fest. After her heated confrontation with Ishida, Orihime had needed some casual fun time. Tatsuki and Rukia had been dropping by her apartment often to visit and tonight they decided to have an old-fashioned sleepover, silly pajamas required.

They munched on their popcorn watching the first film, a romantic comedy Orihime had wanted to see. Thankfully, it had enough action to keep Tatsuki and Rukia interested. "That guy's hot," Tatsuki suddenly said uncharacteristically. The male lead had spiky vibrant red hair and a strong jaw line. Rukia turned her head a little, looking at the actor. "I dunno, if his hair was longer I think he'd look just like Renji."

Tatsuki froze mid-chew and hoped the girls didn't pick up on that. "Oh. My. GOD." She heard them say simultaneously. _Shit, too late._

"You think Renji's hot?"

"Do you like him?"

She felt her ears go red at their comments. She hadn't meant to say that out loud.

"NO and Hell NO," she immediately replied, but it was obvious by the flush on her face that at least one of those answers was a lie.

"And why not?" Rukia interjected in defense of her long-time friend. "He _**does**_ have a nice body." She looked over at Orihime with a wink. Orihime grinned widely to play along. "Yeah…I wonder how far down his tattoos go…"

Tatsuki felt thick blood pulsing in her head. She was sure her ears would catch fire if she heard anymore of this Renji nonsense.

"I think Ichigo would have the answer to that question. He's probably seen him more naked than I have."

"You've seen him naked?!"

"Not completely. Remember, I grew up with the oaf."

"Okay, that's ENOUGH!" Tatsuki raised her voice and abruptly left the small circle, storming to the bathroom to cool down.

_This is such bullshit._

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"Oi, where are the girls?" Asano Keigo announced as they sat at a large booth. "This turning into a sausage fest."

Ichigo shrugged, "They're doing some stupid 'girl's night' where they watch movies 'til dawn. Why the hell else would I be hanging out with you?"

"Awww, Kurosaki-kun, that hurts," Keigo pouted, his lower lip quivering. No one bothered to console the drama queen on the group.

_She's also still mad at me,_ Ichigo internally commented. By the time he came up with a good way to apologize to Rukia, she had already packed and left for Orihime's place for the impromptu sleepover. Instead, he left her gift sitting on her bed in his sisters' room with a note. She would get it in the morning.

At least he wasn't sitting with Keigo alone. He didn't know if he could handle that. Kojima Mizuiro, Ishida and Chad came out tonight. They sat around the booth, eating and talking like normal teenagers at a teahouse.

"The Tanabata Festival started today. We should all go on the last night," Keigo spoke. "At least we could pick up some chicks there."

"I'm sure _**I**_ could pick up women, I don't know about _**you**_, Keigo-san," piped up Mizuiro. It still baffled Ichigo how the baby-faced 16-year-old managed to pull off dates with college girls.

"You could always share, Mizuiro-kun," Keigo tried to argue.

"What's the fun in that? More for me." Mizuiro's eyes sparkled deviously.

"You're so mean, Mizuiro-kun!"

Ishida and Chad just looked over at Ichigo and rolled their eyes. The ding of the door opening gained Mizuiro's attention. "Speaking of which…" His gaze stayed fixed on the blonde twins that just walked into the teahouse. They had to be at least 20-years-old. He took one final sip of his drink and fixed his already perfect dark hair. "Duty calls," he waved and slipped out the booth.

Ichigo had to laugh. _How does he do it?_

"So are we at least going to the festival?" Keigo tiredly convinced. Chad looked at Ichigo who just shrugged. Ishida was the one to speak. "Sure. The summer festival only comes once a year."

Keigo clapped with glee as the others kept their thoughts elsewhere.

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Rukia walked lazily back to the Kurosaki clinic. She only had a few hours of sleep during the all-night movie fest and her spirit seemed drained. Tatsuki had finally calmed down and the rest of the night was fun. She wasn't much for the usual girl gossip, but it was good to at least act like a normal teenager for that short time. Besides, now she had some ammo to use on Renji. _Heh, heh, heh,_ Rukia's inner thoughts cackled gleefully.

She quietly opened the door into the upstairs living area as not to disturb the others. Tip-toeing down the hallway she passed by Ichigo's room. His door was closed. She felt almost disappointed. After the discussions with the girls, she found herself wishing she was sleeping in his closet again. She missed hearing the soft slumber of the orange-haired Shinigami. He snored so lightly it was like a cat purring. Her anger at him had subsided, but she wouldn't be the first to speak.

She slowly entered the girl's room where she was staying. She plopped her overnight bag on the floor and immediately made her way to the twin-sized bed. She nearly slung herself on the mattress in exhaustion, but stopped short. Resting on her pillow was a small, flat rectangular box. Tucked underneath the box was a note.

With hesitation, Rukia sat down on the bed and pulled the note out first. She opened the folded paper, biting her lip with sudden nervousness.

_I know you're mad because of me, so I hope this helps…midget._

The note wasn't signed but it was obviously from him. She didn't immediately open the gift, just stared at the box in bewilderment for a while. He had saved her life several times, but this…this was different. Lovers did this.

_Lovers._

The thought nearly frightened her. But it wasn't the word that scared her; it was the fact that it didn't bother her much. They were close—very close—and enjoyed each other's comfort, even when they were fighting…especially when they were fighting. It was a game they had danced around since she met him over a year ago. She just never thought the game would become serious. She did care for him after all…deeply. Still, she wasn't sure she could give her heart away again. She had done it once before and it was still in pieces.

Taking a deep breath, Rukia picked up the box and carefully began unwrapping the present. When she opened the lid, she nearly gasped at its contents. It was a simple gesture, but showed that he remembered what she liked. She picked up the delicate bracelet and looked at it in the light. The silver chain held charms that alternated tiny sculptures of Chappy the Rabbit and purple rhinestone daisies. Her eyes softened as the crystals sparkled in the morning's rays.

She finally laid down her head against the soft pillow, grasping the bracelet close to her chest. She drifted off to sleep, thoughts caught between the man she once loved and the boy she could love.

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Okay, this chapter was a little OOC for Tatsuki and sappy on other parts but whatever.  
It's all for the laughs and happy smiles! ^_^  
Also the hint about Kaien will explain itself later in the story.


	9. Reconciling

Ichigo hadn't slept much that night. His thoughts about Rukia and whether or not she would accept his apology gift kept him awake. He briefly heard her come in this morning and felt her pause by his door. Part of him wished she was still staying in his closet, although he would never admit it to her.

"Good Morning, Ichi-GO!" Isshin, Ichigo's father, announced to all of Karakura. Ichigo grunted in return. "Ha, hah! No response, I win by default!"

"Shut up, Dad," Karin grumbled.

Isshin's lower lip quivered as if she hurt his feelings. "Oh, Masaki, none of our children love me anymore!" he cried, hugging the large poster of Ichigo's deceased mother on the wall. Karin rolled her eyes.

"Oh, Good Morning, Rukia-nee-san," Yuzu said sweetly as she brought the morning's late breakfast to the table.

"Good Morning," Rukia smiled. She walked behind Ichigo's chair and brushed her hand against his arm. The gesture got Ichigo's attention and he watched her sit next to him. She kept her eyes locked to his—they held no more anger. She fumbled with a small bracelet on her wrist. **His** bracelet.

They still didn't speak but ate brunch in a comfortable silence. When the family was done, Rukia stood up and slipped a scrap of paper on Ichigo's lap on the way out. He waited until he got to his room to read it, in fear of the humiliation his father would inflict if the note was discovered.

_Thanks for the gift._

…

…

_I'm still not talking to you._

Ichigo smirked.

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Orihime woke to a knock on her door. Tatsuki and Rukia had left early that morning and she promptly fell asleep when they bid her goodbye. "Ooo who could that be?" she muttered and stumbled through the apartment. She opened the door, one eye closed against the bright sun.

No one.

Orihime looked around, she was sure she heard someone. She began to close the door when something caught her eye. A wrapped brown paper package lay on the stoop. She bent at the waist, picking up the gift. It wasn't heavy but the sides buckled with gravity.

Inside, she put the package on the low table and sat back. It wasn't wrapped like it came through the post so someone had delivered it by hand. Taking a deep breath, she picked at the twine holding the paper together and pulled.

A breath escaped her lips. The wrapping may have been plain but its contents were vibrant and beautiful. A turquoise, aqua and purple yukata stared back at her surprised gaze. She reached for the fabric, gently feeling the silk and cotton blend under her fingertips. The pattern on the material was nearly white and depicted an intricate arrangement of swirls and starbursts. She recognized the cloth as something Ishida had talked about in the Handicrafts' Club: Batik painting from Indonesia or Singapore.

_Ishida._

Suddenly her hands were quickly searching for something within the folds of the fabric. When she picked the garment up out of the wrapping, she found it.

_Inoue-san,_

_Please accept this as a token of apology. I will be at the Tanabata Festival tomorrow night. I would be honored if you would wear this piece._

_--Ishida Uryuu_

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"I want a purple one," a small child demanded.

"We're out of purple ones," Renji responded with anger. It was the second night of the Tanabata festival and his patience had grown thin. He crossed his arms and scowled at the toddler.

"But I want a purple one!" the child screamed, her arms flailing in the air. Her green yukata flapped around her wrists as her tantrum grew.

"Listen brat, we don't have any purple ones left tonight! So just give me your money and I'll give you a fucking pink one!"

The little girl's expression quickly changed into shock, then her eyes filled with tears and she ran away wailing.

"Abarai-san, why are you making my customers cry?" Urahara asked in his usual singsong tone. He had just walked up to the shop's booth and witnessed the whole thing. The blonde man tapped the side of his cane against Renji's head. "You wouldn't want to get Benihime involved to keep you in line, now would you?"

Renji gulped with full knowledge that Urahara kept his zanpaktou hidden in his cane. He wasn't about to get his ass kicked by the former Captain of the 12th Division. Urahara smirked. "That's what I thought. Now I'm going to get us some taiyaki," Renji's face perked up hearing the name of his favorite food, "And then I'm going to eat them all in front of you."

Renji felt like a vein was going to pop from the rage bubbling up to his face. Urahara just loved to push his buttons. He tried to focus his anger away and recognized someone in the crowd. "Oi, Arisawa!" he waved. His expression immediately changed when he spotted her walking by.

"Tatsuki, who is that tattooed man calling you?"

Tatsuki looked where her mom was pointing and internally groaned. "That's just Ichigo's cousin." She put on a fake smile.

"Oh? Well, we should go say hello," Tatsuki's father commented. He started to steer his family toward Urahara's booth. Tatsuki could feel her face begin to flush, both from the embarrassment of her father's insistent casual chat and from what she implied about Renji yesterday. She really, really, really didn't want to run into him again so soon.

Renji watched as Tatsuki and her family walked over to the booth. "Arisawa Hiroshi," Tatsuki's father stuck a hand out to greet the redhead. "I hear you're Ichigo's cousin." Renji reached to shake his hand with a firm grip and bowed with respect.

"Uh…yeah, I'm just visiting and working here for the summer." Renji's eyes drifted towards Tatsuki's face and noticed she was avoiding eye contact.

"Well, any family of Ichigo's is welcome in our house anytime. Stop by for dinner some night. I insist."

"Th-Thank you, sir."

"Um, Otou-san," Tatsuki started, "There's some yakitori nearby. Didn't you say you wanted some?"

"Why yes, I did. Come on, dear," Tatsuki's father locked arms with his wife. "Are you coming, Tatsuki?"

"I'll be there in a sec. Just want to look around first." Her dad nodded and continued walking down the rows to the yakitori stand. When her parents were out of sight, Tatsuki let out the breath she didn't realize she had been holding.

"I'm so sorry about that."

"It's okay," Renji shrugged.

"No seriously, he can be just so…nosy sometimes. You know how Dads get."

"Actually, I don't."

Tatsuki snapped her head up at Renji's reply. She immediately regretted her words.

"I grew up on the streets with Rukia. Since you know everything about Soul Society and Shinigami, I thought you would have known that too." Renji raised an eyebrow, mocking her. Tatsuki felt her face redden and fumbled with the obi of her yukata. Now she could see there was more to Renji than his tough façade and annoying tendencies. _Dammit, I don't want to feel like this around him._

"I'm sorry. Um, I gotta go or I'll hear it from my dad." Tatsuki turned away from Renji, afraid that looking at his handsome face would give her thoughts away.

"Tatsuki?" he called out to her as she left. She stopped and glanced over her shoulder. Renji grinned wide. "You look like a girl."

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Chad stood at the top of the levee bank, admiring the lights from the nearby shrine. He always loved this time of year, both for its weather and the festival. Tanabata, the Evening of the Seventh. He knew its story well, having an admiration of Japanese culture and folklore. Tanabata celebrates the meeting of the two stars Vega and Altair, two lovers who could only meet once a year. The romantic in him liked the story and secretly wished for the same thing.

A crack of a twig caught his attention to a tree nearby. There she was, standing on a branch, her plum long hair floating around her in the breeze. Her eyes were closed, feathery eyelashes seemed to flutter like wings of a butterfly. She hummed a soft melody that sounded like the open sea. If she hadn't made her presence know, Chad would have never realized she was there.

He gazed at the beautiful sight. Her voice was soothing and he felt as if he was floating across waves. When he opened his eyes she had moved from the tree to a few feet in front of him. She was tall, legs long and bronze. Her curves moved as she walked towards him. She slid her hand in his, lightly grasping his fingers. "Who are you?" Chad heard himself say. His voice seemed far away and muted. She simply smiled and continued humming.

Then a breeze kicked in, and she was gone.

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**^__^ ****REVIEWERS GET COOKIES! ^__^  
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**Update Schedule: Monday, Wednesday, Friday  
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I couldn't find any references about Tatsuki's family but I knew  
she lived with both her parents (and a brother??). I just  
picked a random male name for her dad's introduction.


	10. Something is Coming

"Uryuu," Ishida's father's voice came in through the hallway.

"What is it, Ryuuken?" Ishida never addressed his father properly. He didn't see the need when the man was barely a father figure. He kept his eyes on the morning's paper as he ate breakfast.

Ryukken's dark eyes didn't falter from his son's rude attitude. "This came for you," he said flatly, tossing an envelope on the glass table in front of him. The paper slid towards Ishida's dish and stopped directly in front of him.

His brows came together in confusion. "I already picked up the post this morning."

"It didn't come with the post." Ryuuken sipped his coffee and retreated to his office. Ishida looked up to see his father's white hair leave the kitchen. His eyes moved to the envelope sitting in front of his breakfast plate. _Ishida-kun_ read the text written on the front. It was her handwriting.

He took a breath before reaching for a letter opener and cut the top of the envelope. He shook out its contents and was surprised at what he found. Two people smiled back at him. A small grin crept across his face. He flipped the photo over and saw a note.

_I'll see you there. -- Inoue Orihime_

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"Oh, Kuchiki-san, you look beautiful!" Orihime exclaimed as she opened the door of her apartment. "Come on in, Tatsuki's already here." The ginger-haired girl tugged the petite Shinigami through the doorway.

"Thanks," Rukia responded, "Nii-sama gave it to me." She did a double take when she noticed what Orihime was wearing to the festival. "Inoue…that is…stunning." She couldn't find the words to describe the modern take on a yukata, but it completely trumped anything she had ever seen before. "Where did you find it?"

Orihime hid her face down, a blush creeping across her cheeks. "Ishida-kun made it." Her voice was barely above a whisper. She smoothed down the white embroidered obi that matched the pattern on the dyed fabric. She felt confident and beautiful in this yukata. At the last second before her friends came, she tied her hair halfway up in a messy bun, suddenly nostalgic of the time she and Ishida spent together in Sereitei. She smiled inwardly, knowing that she would see him again tonight.

"So what should we start with, Orihime? It's your festival, after all," Tatsuki playfully nudged her best friend out of her thoughts.

Rukia was slightly confused. "Tanabata," Tatsuki explained, "Is about two lovers who can only meet once a year on this day, the 7th day of the 7th month in the lunar year. The princess's name in the story is Orihime. I've been trying for years for her to get her prince." She added the last part with a wink.

"Tatsuki, please," Orihime was starting to feel embarrassed. In the past, Ichigo had been the prince Tatsuki had hunted for her friend, but Orihime knew that wasn't her place anymore. She didn't know what Tatsuki would try now that she knew about her developing feelings for Ishida. Her friend could be relentless when she put her mind to it.

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"Oi, where's Rukia-chan?" Isshin poked at his son getting ready to leave for the festival.

"She already left to meet up with the girls." Ichigo batted his father's hands out of his face. It was bad enough he had been suckered into wearing a traditional yukata—although he had to admit it was about as comfortable as the robes he wore as a Shinigami. The dark blue fabric wasn't too loud and held a tasteful white pattern. If Yuzu hadn't have made it for him, he wouldn't have bothered to wear one in the first place.

Karin didn't look too happy in a girl's yukata, but her twin stood next to her with a big smile on her face. Yuzu had done well, picking out patterns for everyone and making them all yukata's for this year's festival. Even though Ichigo would run off with his friends when they got there, at least they looked like a family.

"We will see her there. Let's GO, Ku-Ro-Sa-Ki family!" Isshin pumped his hand in the air like the leader in a parade. Yuzu followed behind him with the same actions, a large grin plastered on her face. Karin rolled her eyes and fell in line, while Ichigo held up the end as a straggler.

The walk to the festival grounds wasn't that far, not that anything was a great distance in Karakura. The girls' eyes widened and sparkled when they saw the glow of hanging lanterns. The largest crowd gathered on the last day, writing down their wishes, spending time with loved ones, and looking forward to the fireworks. Ichigo stayed with his family, touring the grounds until the others showed up.

"Ah, Uryuu-kun," Isshin called, spotting the young Quincy. Ishida walked over to the Kurosaki family, addressing the group with common respect. Even with casual clothes, his traditional yukata was adorned with Quincy colors. The white fabric was trimmed with blue, a Quincy cross humbly displayed in light embroidery across his left breast.

"Kurosaki-san," Ishida simply responded to the older man. He and Ichigo exchanged mutual silent greetings. Isshin smirked inwardly, seeing the similarities in friendship between Ryuuken and himself.

Chad joined the group shortly after, followed by Keigo and Mizuiro. Isshin patted his first born on the shoulder. "Now you don't have to hang out with your lame family anymore," he grinned.

The corner of Ichigo's mouth went up. "Not all lame, just you."

"Oh, my son! That hurts!"

"Bye," Ichigo waved as he walked off with the guys. When the group was out of earshot, Isshin turned to Yuzu, the gears in his head spinning. "Did you bring the video camera?" he asked with devious eyes.

"Of course," Yuzu chirped with the same look.

"All right!" Isshin propped his hands on his hips. "Let 'Operation: Spy on Ichigo's Group Date' commence!"

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Ishida was trying to enjoy himself but his thoughts kept going back to Orihime. She hadn't said she forgave him, but she did say she would meet him there. Would she be wearing the yukata he designed for her? What did the picture of them together mean? From across the fair, he spotted her. She and the other girls were writing down their wishes for the traditional offering. He swallowed the hard knot in his throat when the group started to make their way in that direction.

Orihime was writing her wish to sail into the heavens. She had thought of something earlier and decided it would be best. She would ask for forgiveness from the feelings of jealousy, the courage to move on, and hope for happiness. She wanted to set things right and was determined to get her two friends together, even though it broke her heart. Perhaps if it was not too late, someone would be there to catch it.

Rukia was immersed in writing her wishing note and didn't notice the large carrot-top looming over her shoulder. "Yo," a voice suddenly said in her ear. She jumped at the sound of his voice. "What the hell, Ichigo!" she shouted at him and reached up to slap him across the back of his head. After a year of knowing exactly how she would react, Ichigo's responses were quick, so he dodged her little hand as it came swooping through the air, catching her wrist with his hand.

Ichigo chuckled, "I thought you weren't talking to me."

"That wasn't talking, it was scolding." Rukia narrowed her violet eyes at the Substitute Shinigami. Ichigo smirked as he towered over the petite warrior. He was looking at her with renewed eyes, and he started to notice the little things about her that he loved. Her high cheeks flushed with anger and her eyes shined whenever she was annoyed. She would huff a breath up, moving the ever-staying long bang that hung between her huge orbs. Even with a scowl, she still looked like a Kuchiki Princess, standing in her elegant pale yellow yukata with embroidered cherry blossoms.

"What?" Rukia asked with an odd expression on her brow. The way he was looking at her made her stomach flutter. He was still grasping her wrist and his touch made her heart race.

A glint of light on Rukia's arm caught in Ichigo's eye. She was wearing his bracelet. He shook his head with a grin. "Nothing." He dropped her hand but kept his eyes locked on hers.

Keigo's annoying voice cut through their non-verbal communication. "Oi, it got really windy all of a sudden, didn't it?" He covered his eyes to shield them from dust rising around them.

Keigo, Mizuiro and Mizuiro's twin dates looked around the area, blinking against the rising gusts. The others searched the skies, knowing something was coming. Keigo could sense that hollows were near, but he didn't want to raise any alarms. Instead, he motioned for Tatsuki, Mizuiro and the blonde twins to find shelter from the impending attack. He looked back at his group of friends, knowing they would handle whatever came near.

The empty screams of hollows filled Tatsuki's ears, but she didn't follow Keigo to get inside the shrine. Instead, she made her way to Urahara's booth. She looked Renji in the eyes and they had a mutual understanding.

Something was definitely coming.

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**^__^ ****REVIEWS ARE LOVE ^__^  
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**Update Schedule: Monday, Wednesday, Friday!**

I hope that clears up some of what Tanabata is about. If not, I just used Wikipedia for a reference. ;)

Sorry I left you on a cliffhanger ;) But you're going to have to get used to that until the end of the whole story.  
Looks like you'll have to wait until Friday for the beginning of the climax!


	11. Split Apart

"We need lure the hollows away from this area," Ishida spoke, pushing his chic frames up the bridge of his nose. "Otherwise there could be too many casualties. They will be attracted to our high spiritual energy, so they should follow us."

"Thanks for the Hollow 101 lecture, Professor Ishida," Ichigo smirked. His grin turned serious when he saw the first of the hollows emerge. The same, snake-like creatures they had fought a week ago were back. "We need to get out of here."

The group ran from the crowds, who were oblivious to what was going on and expecting a rainstorm to come. There was an open field nearby and no civilians should be in that area.

Rukia quickly searched her pockets for the soul candy, but the dispenser was nowhere to be found. Her eyes went wide at the gravity of their situation. She was very limited in the body of a gigai. Kido would be less effective and she could not call out her zanpaktou.

"Where the hell is it? I can't find my fucking soul badge!" Ichigo patted himself over and over again, looking for the badge in his yukata that would force his spirit body out.

Then, to group's surprise, Tatsuki appeared, immediately followed by Renji. "What's going on?" she cried out to her friends. "Hollows attacked the festival," Renji-Vice-Captain-Obvious stated.

"I _**know**_ that," Tatsuki hissed at him. Then she mentally hit herself. Her friends looked at her in awe. Questions started flying out of Orihime's and Ichigo's mouths, but their jumbled voices were overpowered by the screams of hollows above them.

Renji reached in his shirt pocket, and then frantically started searching all his hidden pockets in his white and pink yukata. "The soul candy, I can't find it."

"Join the club," Rukia spat out. Hollows circled above them, closing in for an attack. _We are so screwed._

Ishida withdrew his Quincy bow, Chad unveiled his right arm of destruction, and Orihime was ready to release her fighting units. As the three humans prepared themselves for battle, a sudden burst of light nearly blinded everyone. When the light settled, a young girl stood in the center of the cleared area.

"Ben-Ten!" several voices cried out at once.

"That's Ben-Ten?" Renji asked.

"Who's Ben-Ten?" Orihime and Ishida asked nearly simultaneously. But that girl looked familiar. Her silver eyes glinted with mischief. Her dark plum hair whipped around the blue and green dragon yukata print she wore with pride. Chad didn't say a word, but his eyes were open now to what was going on.

Ben-Ten smiled and held her snake up in the air. The hollows came crashing down, then compressed into the body of the garter snake through a beam of light. In seconds, all the hollows were gone.

"Okay, what the hell is going on?" Ichigo raised his voice.

Ben-Ten immediately lifted a finger to silence him. She looked around her and her smile deepened. With her palms pressed together like a prayer, she bowed her head and closed her eyes. Then, without warning, Ben-Ten pushed her hands out towards the group with a quick flick of the wrist. The small motion sent all parties hurtling through the air, unable to distinguish which was up or down.

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Ichigo woke sprawled on the ground, not sure where he was. It was dark and the only source of light was the waning moon. He grunted and pushed himself off the ground. Standing, he surveyed the area. It sure looked like the same forested area they were in before, but what happened? All he remembered was seeing that brat he saved, and then waking up on the forest floor.

"Ooo," he heard a female groan from the nearby brush.

"Rukia?" He hurried over to the bush and parted the plants. Rukia looked up at him slowly, holding her head and blinking. Ichigo couldn't help but grin. Leaves stuck out from all directions in her hair.

"What's so funny, strawberry head?" Rukia asked with a groggy voice.

"Nothing, midget." He reached over and picked a leaf from her locks.

Rukia moved her hands up to feel what was on her head, then gasped and shook the leaves out of her hair. "Idiot, why didn't you tell me?" She stepped out from the brush and dusted herself off.

"I thought you weren't talking to me anymore," Ichigo mocked, bending over so his face was at her height.

Rukia blinked. His face was so close to hers. It had never really bothered her until a few weeks ago. Now whenever she was around him, she felt more nervous than comfortable. She felt like she did…back then. Ichigo saw her eyes soften and focus on somewhere else for a split second. Rukia shook her head out of the memories. "Shut up," she said quietly and pushed past him. "We need to find out where we are."

Ichigo stayed in the same position for a moment before moving to follow her. _What just happened?_

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Ishida wasn't out of it long and soon he was up on his feet, searching for someone, anyone. He had been separated from the group. _Idiot!_ he cursed himself. He should have sensed something was odd about that girl, but she seemed to block his powers. Ishida wasn't used to not being in control of a situation and it scared him.

"Hellooo…?" he heard a familiar voice call out.

"Inoue-san?" he called back, cupping his hands over his mouth to amplify his words.

"Ishida-kun?" Orihime replied, hope suddenly building up. They gravitated towards the sounds of each other's voices, using the concept of Marco, Polo to find one another in the dark. The light from the moon barely reached them, its face peaking out between the thick treetops every few yards.

"Inoue-san?"

"Ishida-kun?"

They were getting closer. Ishida heard a rustle and Orihime squeak as she tripped over a tree root. She shot out her arms to dampen the impact and ended up falling into him. He almost fell back from the collision, but held his ground and helped her up. Orihime raised her face up to him and couldn't help but start to giggle.

"Is this a bad habit of yours, running into me?" Ishida had to interject. Her giggles turned into full on laughter. Ishida had to admit her laughter was contagious. He lightly chuckled with her, releasing all the tension between them over the past few weeks. It was great to hear her laugh again. She hadn't been genuinely happy since they got back from Hueco Mundo.

After a few moments and calming down, Orihime was the first to ask. "So where are we now?"

"I don't know, around the festival grounds I'm sure."

_That's not exactly what I meant,_ Orihime's subconscious voiced. She gave the naïve Quincy a smile. "Do you think we're far?"

Ishida looked around at their surroundings. "We shouldn't be. Come on." He led her through the dark forest, holding her hand the entire way.

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"Oi! Wake up you big oaf!" Tatsuki slapped Renji's face.

"Ow! What the fuck was that for?" Renji shouted, sitting straight up.

Tatsuki rolled her eyes. "Finally! Do you know how long I've been trying to wake you up?" Renji rubbed his cheek, the pain starting to hit his nerves. Tatsuki huffed, "You'll probably feel it in a bit." She stuck a hand out to help him on his feet.

Renji shook his head to wake himself up, then slapped his hand in hers and pulled her down. He had quickly changed their positions: now she lay in the grass and he was standing above her.

"You ass!" Tatsuki reached a leg out and swung it at Renji hard, making him lose his footing.

"Ugh, my ass," he whined, laying out on the grass at an angle to Tatsuki. They both panted for a few seconds, their heavy breaths the only noise around them.

"So," Tatsuki swallowed, "what do you think happened?"

Renji looked over at her, his long red hair rolling against the soft grass. "I don't know, but we should probably find the others." He flung an arm out near her, his palm open. "Truce?"

Tatsuki thought about it, then flipped him the bird. She popped herself up, gracefully using a Karate technique and began to walk away.

_Heh,_ Renji chuckled to himself. _She sure is something else…_

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"Face it, we're lost, Ichigo." Rukia followed behind the orange-haired teenager, easily ducking under branches in their way.

"We're not lost," he lowly growled. "We're just further away than I thought we were."

_Boys,_ Rukia huffed, _Never stop for directions, do they?_ She rolled her eyes and stopped behind him, kicking off her sandals.

"What are you doing?"

Rukia reached up to the branch above her and started scaling the tree. "I should have done this an hour ago instead of letting you run us around in circles." She climbed and climbed, getting close to the top of the tree. But the more she climbed, the further away the top of the tree seemed. Rukia looked up and up…and up. The tree seemed never ending. She frowned. Something here wasn't right.

"So did you find out where we need to go?" Ichigo asked as Rukia made her way down the tree. She jumped off from the last branch with a concerned look on her face.

"Rukia? Which way do we get out of the forest?"

Rukia furrowed her brow and looked up at Ichigo. "We're not in a forest. We're trapped in an illusion."

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**Update Schedule: Monday, Wednesday, Friday!**

Dun, Dun, DUN! Mwahaha, I'm evil ::cackles gleefully::  
Don't kill me for ending the chapter right here. It worked! ;-P

I'm thinking I may be nice and give you guys 4 updates next week since there are only 4 chapters left. :-D


	12. Confessions

Urahara Kisuke stood on a hill, overlooking the situation. He smirked to himself. It wasn't uncommon for the shopkeeper to hold secrets, so this was no different.

A black cat walked up to him, rubbing its head against his cane. "Hello there, Yoruichi," he spoke and bent down to scratch the cat between its ears. Shihouin Yoruichi responded with a purr. "Remind me again why I put up with your ancestor? Those kids are smart. They'll figure it out sooner rather than later."

"You owe her one," a masculine voice came from the cat's mouth. "Plus, you know what she's like. She'll do whatever she wants."

"That she does." Urahara sat down on the grassy knoll and Yoruichi climbed into his lap. They sat there in the moonlight, waiting and watching.

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"What do you mean we're trapped in an illusion?" Ichigo demanded.

"Screaming about it isn't going to help me think!" Rukia pointed out. She lifted a hand and rubbed her temples with her fingers.

"It's gotta be Ben-Ten's doing," she sighed. "We should have been more careful. Now we can't find anyone because of this stupid illusion and it's too late to warn them."

"They'll figure it out," Ichigo shrugged. "Now we just need to figure out how to break the spell." He grinned widely with his usual cocky expression.

Rukia looked at him oddly just then. With the dark lighting, his sudden confidence, he looked just like…it was almost like…

"Don't look at me like that," Ichigo frowned, and turned his head away from Rukia's gaze.

A sudden flush rose to Rukia's shocked face. "Like what?"

"I'm not _**him**_," Ichigo suddenly burst out. Rukia felt like his words had slapped her. She was like a fox caught in a trap. "Whoever he was, I'm not him, Rukia."

Rukia blinked, tears beginning to prick her eyes. "What would you know about it?" she cried out, her brow narrowing with irrational anger.

"I don't know anything, and that's the problem!" Ichigo shot back. He took a few deep breaths, balling his hand up in a fist at his side. "It's just something I heard."

"What was it? What did you hear?" Rukia practically screamed at him. Her face began to turn red from anger and the tears starting to surface.

"That I'm a lot like 'him.'" Ichigo scowled at her.

"Wha-What?" she stammered, unable to comprehend his words. "Who did you hear that from?"

Ichigo sighed. "Ukitake."

"Wha—"

"_**And**_ Byakuya."

Rukia gasped, quickly biting her tongue. "Nii-sama?"

"Yeah. I'm sure they didn't mean for me to hear it though. Still doesn't mean it didn't happen."

"Nii-sama? I can't believe it…" Rukia looked at the ground in disbelief.

Ichigo walked towards her, his face a mixture of concern and disappointment. "What happened, Rukia?"

She averted her eyes, afraid to look at him. "I…I can't."

Ichigo huffed, tired of playing this game. "Fine. Whatever." He turned his back to her and walked away, settling down on a rock perched over the small stream.

Rukia placed a tired hand against her forehead and let out a shaky sigh. _Goddammit._ She took a deep breath to calm down and walked over to where Ichigo was resting. He gazed out into the sky with his usual scowl. Only this time, that scowl had a meaning. Rukia sat down next to him and dangled her legs over the edge of the stream. She put a bare foot in the water and let the current run over her toes.

"His name was Shiba Kaien," Rukia started. Ichigo glanced over at her as she spoke. She swallowed and kept looking into the sky.

"He was the Vice-Captain of the 13th Division.

"I loved him…

"And I killed him."

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Ishida held Orihime's hand tightly, making their way through the dense grasses and trees. He felt her hand growing limp with fatigue. "Do you need to rest?" Ishida said to Orihime over his shoulder.

"No," she lied, sweat growing on her brow, "I'm fine."

Ishida stopped in his tracks. "Well, I need to rest," he lied for her sake. She was pushing herself and he wouldn't have that.

Orihime nodded and let her hand slip out from Ishida's grasp. He immediately missed the warmth of her touch. She settled down on a patch of grass and stretched her legs out, finally catching her breath. She smoothed out the beautiful fabric on the yukata Ishida custom made and gazed at it with admiration.

"Ishida-kun?" she said, her eyes open to his. Ishida kneeled down until he could look directly in her huge hazel orbs. "Thank you for this. This is the most beautiful yukata I've ever seen."

"It was nothing," he dismissed. "And thank you, for the picture you gave me."

Orihime grinned. The moonlight hit her eyes and made them sparkle. She swallowed before speaking next. "You've been very kind to me, even after I behaved so horribly towards you." She moved her hand to place it next to the hand Ishida supported his weight on. Her pinky finger touched his skin and that familiar spark surfaced.

"It's all right, I deserved it. I'm the one who should be apologizing for not saying anything that night." He shifted his weight to sit down next to her. "I don't think you're weak." He paused and looked directly at her. "You're one of the strongest women I know."

Orihime felt her cheeks lightly flush at his comment.

Ishida bit his lip before continuing confession. "I just don't want to lose you. Not again." He looked up into the sky, his finger twirling a blade of grass.

"And I don't want to be your second choice just because your first isn't available."

Orihime's face grew hot after his statement. _Is that how he thought of himself, as the second choice?_ She didn't realize how much attention he had paid to her during their time together. He must have figured out long ago that she harbored feelings for Ichigo.

Ishida turned his face back to Orihime, finding her deep in thought. He had taken a chance and left the truth out on the table. He figured she didn't return his feelings, but that was okay. She knew now and that was all that mattered.

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"This is insane," Tatsuki growled with Renji close behind. "I swear we've passed that same rock before."

"That's because we have," Renji said flatly.

Tatsuki stopped in her tracks. "What?" She spun to face Renji, dark eyes blazing.

"This is an illusion, and now we're stuck in a loop." Renji met her gaze.

Tatsuki felt her face begin to grow red and her blood boiled under her skin. "What the FUCK?! Why didn't you tell me this earlier?!"

"If you had stopped to listen to me for one second, maybe I could have!" Renji raised his voice to match hers. He was not going to back down. She was infuriating, but she did look good when she was mad. Her dark eyes flashed with passion and her equally dark short locks stood on end. "I do have experience with these kinds of things, woman, so maybe it would do you some good to actually trust someone else."

Tatsuki bit her tongue until it nearly bled. He had struck a nerve, whether he meant to or not. "You don't know anything about me, punk." Her eyes narrowed to a sliver.

"I know that you don't trust anyone but yourself these days. That's why you won't tell your friends, even Inoue, what you know. What I don't understand is why you are so fucking stubborn that you won't come clean." Renji step closer to her as he spoke.

"That's none of your damn business," Tatsuki said in a near whisper. She felt herself step back, aware of his advances. She may have been trained as a deadly weapon, but she felt helpless around the large redhead.

"When it comes to this group, it is." Renji's beady eyes narrowed but looked sincere. "They are…my friends. And their business is my business too. If you don't tell them the truth, I will."

"You wouldn't _dare_," Tatsuki hissed. Her steps back were suddenly stopped by the trunk of a tree.

"Try me," Renji pushed and stuck a hand against the bark right next to Tatsuki's head. His heavy breaths matched hers, as her chest rose and fell against the crimson fabric of her yukata. Her heart beat hard against her chest, his eyes were intense. She felt her lips grow thin with anger and her own frustrating emotional rollercoaster. How was it that she could be completely infuriated and attracted to this man at the same time? This man, who was still very much that orphaned boy from Rukongai. The struggle for acceptance and winning back those he loved raged a battle behind his brown orbs.

Then his mouth crashed down on hers and her mind went blank.

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**^__^ ****REVIEWS ARE LOVE ^__^  
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**FINAL Update Schedule: Monday - Thursday, EVERY DAY!  
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It's technically Monday, so here's the update. ^_^

Don't worry about Chad, he's got the first part coming up in the next chapter ;)  
Huzzah's all around for anyone who I converted to RenTat, including myself. ::boogie time::

Thanks everyone for 55 Reviews! And to those who added this story to their fav's!


	13. Truths

Chad walked around the forest before figuring out that walking was pointless. He was getting nowhere. After a while he sat down on a small mound in the grass to rest and put things in perspective. He knew this illusion he and the others were trapped in would only lift if they could solve the puzzle. Suddenly he felt a presence watching him.

"I know you're there," Chad spoke aloud, not facing the tree he felt the being appear in.

A figure unfolded herself and hopped down the tree, landing so softly he couldn't even hear her feet touch the ground. "I need to work on my stealth. It has been too long," the woman cooed. Her voice was gentle like the hum of the sea moving along the beach.

Her hips swayed as she walked towards the large man, his back turned towards her. She slid her lean, bronze hands along his back and across his shoulders. Her firm breasts pressed up against his muscular frame. The thin material of her dragon-printed yukata was the only thing separating her naked flesh from his body. Her hands dared to keep moving, slipping into the folds of his dark purple yukata, but Chad caught her hands by the wrists, stopping their motions.

"Don't," he spoke with a hint of regret. The woman slyly smiled and moved around to face him. She let her fingertips drag along his collarbone as she strolled. Her curves were accented in the moonlight, shimmering against the darkness in the forest. The blue and green silk draped around her barely covered her body. She leaned down to him and brushed her rosy lips against his.

Chad placed his large hands on her shoulders and slowly pushed her away. "Don't. Please." His eyes peaked out from his coffee colored curls and she saw they were sincere.

"Why?" she teased, a finger coming up to brush his plump lips.

"Because I don't think your _**husband**_ would be very happy." Chad raised an eyebrow at the woman. She stepped back with a smirk on her face and crossed her arms.

"I know who you are," he spoke. "I know what you are. Even in the body of a child, I knew it was you." The woman seemed to take interest.

"The snake, your dragon-printed yukata, the name you gave my friends: Ben-Ten. It didn't take me long to figure out that you were behind all this. I know my Japanese Folklore…" The woman let out a small smile.

"What are you doing here?"

Ben-Ten shrugged her elegant shoulders. "I was bored."

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"Wait, Shiba? Kuukaku and Ganju had another brother?" Ichigo couldn't believe his ears.

"You wanna hear this or not?" Rukia snapped. Ichigo shut his mouth.

"Yes, they had another brother. The Shiba clan was one of the four noble clans in Soul Society, and Kaien-dono was the head."

Ichigo waited as she paused, then asked a question he had been dreading. "Were you guys…together?"

"What? No!" Rukia lightly blushed and held her head in her hands. She took in a breath and continued. "He was married," she explained, "to a beautiful, kind, sweet Shinigami. Miyako-dono was the third seat in the 13th Division." Her eyes softened, remembering her early days as a fresh graduate. "They were the first people in the division who treated me…normally. They weren't afraid of the Kuchiki name. They were…family.

"Then one night, Miyako-dono went on a patrol mission with others. They were attacked by a hollow and she was the only survivor." Rukia narrowed her eyes at the next memory. "But it was a trick. The hollow had possessed her body. She started killing her subordinates at random. We tried to help, but it was too late. The hollow had already taken her soul."

Rukia looked down at her reflection in the stream. "Kaien-dono wanted to avenge her death, but the hollow was too strong. It took over his body and he moved to attack Ukitake-taicho and me. Ukitake-taicho tried to help, but he was still sick.

"Then…" she swallowed. "Then, I drew my zanpaktou just to defend. I couldn't attack Kaien-dono. But he took back control of his body and knew something had to be done. He stabbed himself with my sword still in my hands." Rukia let the tears fall from her eyes. "He died in my arms."

Ichigo couldn't find the words to comfort her. He knew what death was like, watching his mother die when he was a boy, but this was different. Rukia had strong feelings for that man, and he died by her hand.

"And it didn't end there," she practically sobbed. Ichigo looked over at her with a shocked expression. _How would it have gotten worse?_ He held his tongue and let her continue.

"In Hueco Mundo, the Espada I fought had absorbed that same hollow that killed him. Aaroniero Arruruerie…when he first showed his face, it was Kaien-dono. He looked like him, fought like him, acted like him. But it wasn't really him." Rukia wiped her face.

"When I killed the Espada, Kaien-dono's soul was finally at peace. Even Kuukaku-san forgave me after I explained what happened to her brother."

Ichigo swallowed, still trying to find the words to say. Instead he put his hand on her back and rubbed it slowly to calm her sobs. He never thought he would see Rukia cry in front of him.

"I don't know if I can ever forgive myself," she burst out, burying her head in her hands. He draped his arm around her in a tight hug. Suddenly Ichigo found her sitting in his lap, balled up like a child against its mother. She grabbed at him blindly, pulling at the folds of his yukata to close the gap between them. She choked out sobs, pressing her head against his chest.

"I know you're not him, Ichigo. You could never be Kaien…but he could never be you." She tilted her head up to him, her face damp with tears. Her eyes were finally filled with relief to get it all out. She had been holding on to that for so long.

Her lips grew thin with thought. "I don't want to lose you, too…" she said in a whisper. Her face suddenly turned serious and she ran her fingertips over his lips. Ichigo lifted a shaking hand up to her fingers and interlaced them with his own. He held her hand against his heart.

"I'm not going anywhere." He spoke soft and low, so deep she could barely make out his words. But they were there. She looked at him with fresh eyes, able to completely see the boy in front of her—the boy who was very much a man. The only sound she could hear was her own heart beating to the quickening pace of his.

The visible space between them closed, both drawn to each other from grief, need, or something more. Rukia's head swam as his lips lightly touched hers. They were hesitant at first, and then filled with an equal desire to melt the tension they had been fighting since they met. Ichigo tasted the salt from her tears and deepened his search, finding the sweet and tart sensations of berries. Kissing her was like drinking red wine, full of flavor and thoroughly intoxicating.

Taking a breath, Ichigo whispered against her lips, "Rukia, I… I…"

He felt her put a finger against his mouth. "Don't speak. Just let me feel this." She pulled his face towards her for more.

_I love you._

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Silence sat between them so thick you could cut it with a knife. Ishida felt he should change the subject to lighten the mood. "I don't think we're in a forest," he spoke. "We must be stuck in an illusion that the little girl created." He couldn't bring himself to look over at Orihime now that he was wearing his heart on his sleeve. "I'm not sure how we can get out, but we should keep going."

He sighed and stood up, ready to move on. He motioned for Orihime to follow him, but she didn't budge. She looked up at him differently now. "You're wrong," she stated. It was simple and direct, but explained so much.

"I know we're in an illusion. How is that wrong?" Ishida pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. He couldn't make the connections at this point anymore.

She picked herself off the ground, careful to not dirty the yukata Ishida stitched for her. She looked at him with resolve, her eyes growing serious. "You're not a second choice."

Ishida was stunned. He had been so prepared for heartbreak and this was further way from what he ever could have imagined.

"I'm sorry," she started. "I'm so sorry that I didn't see it before." Her eyes narrowed, unable to look him and not break down. A delicate fist coiled against her side. "I was so…jaded. For the longest time I couldn't see past Kurosaki-kun to what was right in front of me." Orihime's hazel orbs began to well up with tears.

"I couldn't see you." She sniffled and a tear dared to escape. Orihime lowered her head. "I don't deserve someone like you. I'm so sorry, Uryuu."

Ishida stiffened, shocked to hear those words come from her. He slowly walked closer to her. "Say it again," he spoke in a low voice.

Orihime lifted her face to see him walking towards her. "I'm sorry."

Ishida picked up the corner of his mouth. "Not that." He stood nearly toe-to-toe with her. "What did you call me, Orihime?"

Orihime lightly licked her lips, her palms growing clammy and heat rushing towards her face. "Uryuu…"

Ishida tucked his hand under her chin, looking deep into the pools of caramel. "Orihime," he cooed.

"Uryuu," she whispered. She closed her eyes as he pulled her towards him.

"Orihime…" Ishida's breath was warm and close. He closed his eyes and they met halfway, their lips lightly brushing. Orihime leaned into Ishida, deepening their kiss. He placed his hand on the small of her back to bring her in. She softly moaned at his gesture, and he grew more daring.

Ishida pressed harder against her lips, taking in their sweetness. He pushed a hand through her hair, holding the base of her neck. His fingers tangled in the silky ginger strands. Orihime smiled against his mouth and left a mark of her own. She explored his mouth, taking in the tastes and sensations that rippled through her body. She ended their passion with a soft kiss.

"Uryuu?" she whispered.

"Yes, 'Hime?"

"Your glasses are foggy."

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Yay for IchiRuki and IshiHime moments ;-) Sappy love all around!


	14. Unveil

A brief moment of weakness and Tatsuki had let down her walls. Her mind snapped back into focus, fully aware what was going on. With eyes wide open, she pushed Renji off of her with a quick jerk. Her face was flustered, but whether it was from her fury or the kiss, Renji wasn't sure. Suddenly he felt stinging radiating from his cheek. He hadn't even seen her pull back her hand for the slap.

"Damn, woman," Renji cursed. He rubbed his cheek after the quick impact. "Don't you think you've hit me enough today?"

"Not even close," she hissed. "I can't believe you took advantage of me like that!"

"Don't even pull that crap on me," Renji shook a finger in her direction. "_**You**_ kissed me back."

"I—Wha—But." Tatsuki couldn't even form a sentence properly. Her head swam as she regrettably looked back a few moments before. His lips had pushed against hers, hard, and moved as if searching for something. And then…Tatsuki shut her mouth in horror. She had kissed him back, with the same ferocity he had given her. She felt her cheeks redden into a deep crimson that matched her yukata. "It didn't mean anything," she finally spat out.

"Like hell," Renji countered. He folded his arms across his chest. The movement shifted his yukata robes and revealed more of the tribal tattoos on his chest. Tatsuki involuntarily hitched her breath at the glimpse of his well-sculpted torso.

"I don't want to feel like this," Tatsuki voiced aloud, screaming at her subconscious to shut up. "This never happened, okay?"

"Bullshit. You wanted it as much as I did."

"I barely know you! Why would I do that?" Tatsuki moved an arm to push past him, but Renji shoved it out of the way and pushed her against the tree.

"Why do you keep lying?" His eyes narrowed as he spoke.

"They lied to me first!" Tatsuki's loud mouth opened before her brain had time to process that thought. She had just admitted that he was right.

It hurt that her friends—even her best friend—didn't tell her about this whole other world they were experiencing. She had to find out from a complete stranger. It wasn't fair. She was supposed to be the strong one, and yet she felt weak now compared to them. But the moment she killed a hollow with a single punch was a turning point. She could now stand with her friends, fighting for what was right, instead of staying on the sidelines and hoping for the best. Meeting Renji like that was an unexpected surprise, but it may have just let her back in.

Renji watched her eyes as she processed the information. She was fighting with herself and her own demons. "Listen," he took a sigh and released his grip on her. "I won't tell them. You can do it when you're ready."

Tatsuki felt her eyes close with relief.

"I know what you're going through," he continued. "It sucks—to be on the outside looking in. I've been doing that my whole life. But you've gotta move on, you know? Sometimes, things just happen.

"I watched my best friend—the girl I loved—torn out away from me by a noble, who later became my captain. Then I saw that she had fallen for someone else. It was supposed to be me." Renji's eyes narrowed, "But it wasn't."

Tatsuki felt her features soften as he spoke. The man certainly had levels he didn't reveal to just anyone.

"And then I met you," Renji moved his face closer to hers. "Shit happens. Things change. The only thing that we can do is rise to the challenge. Fight tooth and nail for what we want." His look pierced through her, finding her soft spot. How did he know exactly what to say?

Dark eyes blinked back at brown ones in front of her. Tatsuki swallowed. He was as close as it got without touching her. Something inside her clicked, and she stood determined. She had been ready for this challenge all her life. "This is all your fault," she said, leaning into him. Renji caught her, engulfing her bruised lips with his own swollen ones. They fought, each wanting to claim the other and win, and each won in their own way. Renji pulled away breathlessly to counter.

"I can live with that."

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Chad felt the frustration rising under his skin. "Is this just a game to you?"

"Of course," Ben-Ten crookedly smiled. "Well, sometimes people need a little push. That's where I come in."

"You're the reason I couldn't sense the hollows, aren't you?" He felt his jaw clench at the revelation.

"Those battles were not meant for you."

Suddenly Chad stood up, approaching the tall woman with large strides. "Do you have any idea what you did to me by blocking my senses? I know where my power comes from. I thought I was becoming one of _**them**_."

"Don't be ridiculous," Ben-Ten scoffed. She held her ground strong against his towering frame. "You are exceptional, Yasutora. You will not lose yourself to hollows."

Chad stood aback. To have someone of her stature call him exceptional was an honor, not matter how meddling the being was. He felt himself fall to his knees in her presence. "Why me?" he managed to breathe out. "Why did you choose to come to me?" His dark eyes held confusion, a rare emotion that crossed his face.

Ben-Ten smiled and ran her long fingers through the curly locks of the young man in front of her. "You have a beautiful soul, Sado Yasutora. You are a credit to your namesake: Calm Tiger. Your will has grown strong. It is fierce but as calm as a stream. After all, only one in every eon can resist me. You have proven yourself worthy."

"Worthy?" Chad lifted his head up. Smiling silver eyes met his dark orbs.

"Yes. Worthy of a gift from me."

Chad's eyes closed. He had never in his lifetime thought anything like this would happen to him. He had come along way from the hot-headed bully he was as a child. Now a gentle giant, he lived each day with the memory of his _Abuelo_ on his heart.

"Sado Yasutora, the Calm Tiger with a noble soul, I bestow upon you the gift of the sea. Wherever there is water, I will be there. Whenever there is trouble, I will lend my hand. My power will become your defense and your offense, able to protect those you love and smite those who wish you harm."

The air around them swirled in a gentle cyclone, leaves picking up and encircling around them. Ben-Ten's dark plum hair swam as if picked up by a current as her voice hummed out in a language long forgotten. Chad felt coolness wash over him, as if he was breathing air for the first time. His chest swelled, filling with the newfound power he would wield at will. When the wind died down, Ben-Ten sealed the gift with a soft kiss to his forehead. Chad felt himself slump, his body suddenly heavy from the weight of the event. He slowly brought his head up, able to see the shining beauty who had freely offered herself to him. He pressed a hand against his heart, taking an oath.

"I thank you, my Goddess."

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Without warning, the scenery surrounding the group was gone. The illusion fell around them, revealing the truth to all. The group, now coupled up, found themselves in the same open clearing as if nothing had happened. Ichigo held Rukia protectively as if she was a fragile doll. Her face had been strained but looked like it had relaxed recently. Ishida held Orihime's hand close to his side, and she leaned into his shoulder. Renji and Tatsuki had separated physically, but the looks on each others faces were clear that something was different. Chad remained in the center, hand clutched against his heart.

"What the fuck just happened?" Ichigo, ever the impatient, demanded. Chad held up a hand to silence him. If Ichigo listened to anyone without question, it was his oldest friend Chad. Then, the air in front of Chad shifted, and the woman revealed herself to the others. Her deep plum hair lazily floated around her, defying gravity. A small bright green snake emerged from the top of her dragon-printed yukata, resting around her shoulders. She glanced around the group, her silver eyes seeing through to their souls. She smiled, satisfied with her work.

Ishida was the first to speak. "Who are you?" he said quietly as if afraid to speak.

"My name is Benzaiten. But you may have known me as Ben-Ten." The woman's voice was calm and strong like a current in deep sea. Suddenly, Ishida, Rukia and Renji dropped to their knees, heads hung low. Orihime and Tatsuki stood confused, but followed suit. Ichigo remained standing, hotheaded as ever. "What the fuck does that mean?"

Rukia yanked on Ichigo's yukata to bring him to the ground. "She's a Goddess. Show some respect!"

_A… __**Goddess**__…?!_ Ichigo could barely comprehend the words. He had come across Shinigami, hollows and near demons, but this was a completely different level. A Goddess: one who had created and ruled the earth, the heavens and beyond. A constantly changing being, as old as time itself. Japanese legend suddenly entered his mind. He had heard her name before in his studies.

"Benzaiten…" he spoke with hesitation. "The Goddess of the Sea."

"…of Music," Renji added.

"…of Beauty," Ishida closed his eyes.

Rukia swallowed and shifted her eyes to Ichigo. "…of Love."

Benzaiten nodded gracefully, not missing a beat. She acknowledged the mortals with admiration. "Your hearts are pure and have endured my tests. Do not be too hasty in your judgments, children, for all will reveal itself with time. Do not be angry at each other over petty differences. Life is too short to harbor ill will with the one you love.

"It is fitting, that tonight is truly a Night of Seven: The Seventh day of the Seventh month, when Vega and Altair can meet as one to share their love has become the day that you discovered it too. You seven mortals have found a love, whether it is the beginning of something new or the kindling of something hidden from long ago.

"Do not waste a second of your days again, or I will come back and create new chaos for you to endure. My trials are final and should not be contested.

"Live, my children.

"Love."

Benzaiten tucked Chad's chin with her elegant hand, and gave him a soft kiss on his cheek. With a flash, she was gone.

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**^__^ ****REVIEWS ARE LOVE ^__^  
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**LAST UPDATE: Tomorrow!**

I hope the identity of Ben-Ten pleased/surprised everyone. She just likes to mess with people, too.  
One more chapter to go, everyone! Happy Endings for all! ;)

Oh yes and for those who are interested, some of Tatsuki's lines  
were inspired by the song "The Walk" by Imogen Heap.


	15. Conclusions

"So you knew? When?"

"When you were…taken. I couldn't sense you anymore. I tried to beat it out of Ichigo, but he wouldn't say anything." Tatsuki looked at her best friend with dark eyes, holding regret. "I went to Urahara's shop and saw Ichigo leaving through the portal. That's when Urahara told me what had happened to you. Everything else I learned from going back to his shop during the time you were gone."

"But, why?" Orihime's caramel orbs started to shake. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"I'm so sorry, 'Hime." Tatsuki pulled her friend in for an embrace. "I wasn't strong enough to protect you. I couldn't trust…anyone for a while. I thought I knew everyone, but it turned out I knew nothing."

Orihime fought back the tears, happy to have her good friend back. "It's okay, Tatsuki. I understand why you held back." She pulled away and held Tatsuki's hands in hers. "But now you're part of something bigger. And you can help...with us."

"I want to learn, Orihime. So I can be stronger and protect the ones I love." Subconsciously, Tatsuki averted her eyes quickly to glance at the vibrant redhead not far away.

Orihime smiled, knowing that her friend was about to embark on a new journey. She could find and conquer anything that came her way. Even love.

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Ichigo stole Rukia away from the group for a moment, and didn't waste his time. He pulled her behind a tree and immediately grasped her face for a kiss. He pressed against her hard, wrapping his arms around her tiny body until there was no space left between them. His mouth slid across her swollen lips, bruising them to gain an entrance. She let him in eagerly, meeting the velvet of his tongue with a lashing from her own. Suddenly, he broke their passionate kiss and she went limp against his chest, too worn out to retaliate.

"Now that I know you'll keep your trap shut, you stopped me from saying something earlier." Ichigo's tone was crossed between irritated and arrogant from his ability to render the young warrior into a pile of jelly.

Rukia lifted her face to his, violet eyes meeting deep hazel. She was still reeling from the intensity of their kiss and could barely comprehend what he was saying. But he didn't need to say it; she could read it in his eyes.

"I love you, Kuchiki Rukia." He had said it anyway. Rukia felt a tremor course through her senses. _He didn't need to say it,_ she repeated to herself, _but he said it anyway_. Their mutual, unspoken understanding had broken down its walls and there was no turning back now.

"I love you, Kurosaki Ichigo."

With those simple words, Ichigo let his sharp face soften, leaning his forehead against hers. He traced her face and memorized her features with the new sensation of touch. He brought her in for another kiss, this time softer, but deeper, as if he could reach her soul. Rukia let herself fly these feelings. He could reach her soul if he wanted. He already had it.

Then they let themselves breathe, Rukia couldn't help a wide grin from spreading across her china-doll face. "Nii-sama is going to kill you," she giggled.

"He tried that already," Ichigo snorted. "I beat him then, and I can do it again." He pulled her in for a tight embrace, bringing his head down to her ear. "I will always fight for you."

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Ishida sat on the grassy knoll, watching the fireworks in the sky. His intellect was still picking part the details of the night, trying to comprehend what had happened. He had won Orihime and was met with a Goddess. A Goddess: one who could easily bend people and situations at will. Was that what brought them together? If so, was it real? His mind was so tangled with questions he barely noticed the presence of someone else until she slid down near him.

Orihime quietly sat down in front of Ishida's outstretched legs, pulling herself back against him so his chest would press against her back. She maneuvered his arms around her waist, so he would hold her in a tight hug. Ishida felt a hitch rise in his breathe as his pale hands wrapped around her tiny waist. He rested his head on her shoulder, perfectly matching the notch in her frame. He swallowed, not sure if he wanted to know the answer to the next question.

"Do you still love him?"

His question would have shocked her, but she expected to hear it. She wanted to be completely honest with Ishida, ready to venture into fresh feelings that weren't met with pain and disappointment. "Yes," she started, "The same way I love Tatsuki and my late brother."

Ishida tightened his grip for a quick hug at her response. He had never been so relieved to hear news in all his life.

"You know that I love you, right, Orihime?" His question came out more like a statement.

She grinned. "I know." She leaned back against his chest, raising a hand around his neck and gently playing with his midnight locks. "I don't know if I love you yet, Uryuu…but I know that I could." She turned to look into his dark eyes with a sweet smile.

"Ask me again tomorrow."

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"Oi, this is sooo not fair!" Keigo whined. "Everyone's paired up except for me! Even Arisawa the Man Hater!"

"I heard that," Tatsuki yelled a few yards away. She nearly got up to kick his ass, but Renji pulled her back down. He held her close to him, his left arm tightly wrapped around her hip. "You bastard," she said quietly but with a smile.

"Tell me something I don't know," Renji growled against her with a grin from ear to ear.

Keigo frowned on the outside, but was inwardly pleased with the outcome of tonight's events. His friends seemed close again, the memory of the Winter War fading from their minds. The thoughts of war were replaced with thoughts of love, or the prospect of. He sighed, determined to keep his goofy appearance up with the group's standards. "Oi, Mizuiro, why don't you lend me one of your dates?"

A resounding '**NO**' came from all three mouths.

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"Oi, Dad, put that camera away!" Karin hissed in a whisper.

"My boy is becoming a man! I'm proud of you son!" Isshin faked wiping a tear from his eye. He had witnessed his first born dragging Rukia behind the tree. He mentally reminded himself to check the locks on his son's door when he got home.

"Daddy, please, it's embarrassing!" Yuzu hardly ever pushed her father away from meddling with Ichigo's business, but this was no joke anymore. Ichigo was in love with Rukia, and they had finally confirmed it. She didn't want to know anything more beyond that.

With an exaggerated sigh, Isshin put the camera down. His twin daughters returned to watching the sky's musical of light and color. He smiled to himself. _Masaki, my love, you would be proud._

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"You'd think my own ancestor would visit me," Yoruichi grumbled. She remained in her cat form for the time being, enjoying the loving scratches Urahara gave to her ears.

"Who's to say I won't?" a voice as calming as the deep sea came from a nearby tree.

"Benzaiten Kami-sama, must You constantly do that?" Urahara interjected. "It is not fitting for a lady of Your stature to spend Her time amongst the trees."

"I do what I want, Kisuke. You should know that by now. Even My dragon Husband has no say." The silver-eyed beauty cocked a wary eyebrow in his direction. The shopkeeper tipped his green and white striped hat to her.

For a moment, the three stood on the hilltop, watching the group of apprentices discuss their recent encounter. A sudden burst light and the smell of burning sulfur filled the air; the fireworks had begun to die down.

"Midnight, it must be," Benzaiten let out a small sigh.

"And the boy?" Urahara kept his eyes fixed to the sky, the flashes of fire highlighting his blonde hair.

"Yasutora Sado, the Calm Tiger. He will need your guidance in this upcoming time. I fear war never lingers far away."

"Have you foreseen it?" the black cat's deep male voice sounded harsh against the bells of the Goddess.

Benzaiten smirked and looked down at her far descendant. "Yoruichi, you shouldn't stay in that feline form for too long. Otherwise, poor Kisuke would be committing bestiality." Urahara's face turned red to suppress his laughter. The black cat just rolled her golden eyes. The Goddess grinned, and turned to make her leave.

"Benzaiten Kami-sama," Urahara started.

"Yes, Urahara Kisuke?"

The shopkeeper stood, careful to support Yoruichi's cat form in his arms. He bowed, deep with respect for one of the beings of creation standing before him. "Thank You," he paused. "For them. And for me."

Silver eyes smiled in the night.

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Chad sat in the midst of his friends, but he didn't notice them. Nor did he hear the gunfire bursts as the fireworks exploded in the midnight sky. All he could think about was what had happened that night. He had been enchanted by a Goddess and She had chosen him. He could feel the new power course through his veins, pulsing with vibrant energy. It swelled and fell like waves. He would come to learn how to harness this power—to wield it in Her name.

He looked up into the heavens, past the light of the fireworks to see the stars bridge. Vega and Altair shone back, twinkling a message. Chad let a small smile cross his lips. He could understand their language.

_Of course, my Lady…_

…_For all time._

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**^__^ ****REVIEWS ARE Super Happy LOVE ^__^  
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This concludes _Night of Seven_. Thanks to everyone who reviewed and fav'd this story!

Special Thanks to: **MatsuMama**, **Hobohunter**, **J'aime Manga**, and **hisanachan** for constantly reviewing

Super Special Thanks to **Pippin's Socks** for acting as my beta early on ^_^

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Theme Music for this story was "Love Remains" by Gavin Rossdale.

I will have a drawing of Benzaiten posted on my DeviantART account.  
Check out my profile page for the link!

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Detailed information about Benzaiten:_  
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Benzaiten is the Japanese Goddess of Love, Beauty, Eloquence and Music, as well as a Sea-goddess. Her husband was a wicked dragon whom She reformed, and She is often shown riding one. Dragons and their smaller relatives snakes are sacred to Her and snakes are often Her messengers. She is said to prevent earthquakes and is worshipped on islands, especially the island of Enoshima. Benzaiten is originally of Hindu origin and is associated with Sarasvati, the Indian goddess of music and wisdom, and is sometimes shown with eight arms. Benzaiten is also linked to Kwannon or Kwan Yin, the sometimes female, sometimes male deity of compassion in Buddhism.

Benzaiten is one of the Seven Gods of Good Fortune who sails on the Takara-bune, the Treasure Ship. Traditionally, a picture of the Takura-bune placed under the pillow on New Year's Eve will bring a lucky dream.

Benzaiten brings luck and good fortune, persuasion and seduction.

Alternate names: Benten, Benzai-tennyo.


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